THE length of Samir Carruthers’s lay-off should finally become clear this weekend.

A persistent knee issue saw the Sheffield United loanee undergo a minor operation on Monday.

At the time the recovery was put at between six and 12 weeks, depending on what was revealed during surgery.

The outcome was not clear-cut and a second scan was ordered yesterday to check on the process.

It leaves Karl Robinson still in the dark to some extent, but the Oxford United boss expects clarity shortly.

He said: “The (second) scan will show how the operation went and see if (the affected area) has knitted, if not it will need more time to grow stronger.

“It could be eight weeks, it could be 12.

“It’s the reaction now to the operation that we’re seeing over the next 48 hours.”