{"id":561655,"date":"2020-08-12T08:22:54","date_gmt":"2020-08-12T12:22:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonfootball.com\/?p=561655"},"modified":"2020-08-12T08:22:54","modified_gmt":"2020-08-12T12:22:54","slug":"george-thorne-leaves-oxford-united","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2020\/08\/12\/george-thorne-leaves-oxford-united\/","title":{"rendered":"George Thorne Leaves Oxford United"},"content":{"rendered":"

Oxford United<\/a> have confirmed<\/a> that George Thorne<\/a> has left the club by mutual consent. This follows the expiry of his short-term contract.<\/p>\n

George Thorne Leaves Oxford United<\/h2>\n

Injury Was Thorne In His Side<\/h3>\n

Thorne <\/span><\/span>originally<\/span><\/span> joined<\/a> Oxford United in August 2019. He signed a loan deal from Derby County<\/a> that was meant to run until January 2020. Alas, he suffered a dislocated shoulder during his first start for Oxford. This was in their eventual 4-0 Carabao Cup<\/a> win over West Ham United<\/a> in September.<\/p>\n

Sadly for Thorne, this was history repeating itself. His move to Oxford stemmed from his desire for first-team football. Prior to starting the West Ham tie, he had not started a game since March 2018. This was due to a combination of injuries and Derby’s change of manager.<\/p>\n

However, his dislocated shoulder caused his loan at Oxford to be cut short.<\/p>\n

It later emerged that Thorne was devasted by his new injury.<\/p>\n

Oxford United manager Karl Robinson later revealed the mental and physical<\/span><\/span> pain that Thorne was suffering<\/span><\/span>.<\/p>\n

“I remember speaking to him when he did his shoulder and he was almost in tears,” said Robinson, as he spoke to Sky Sports News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“The conversation we had he said ‘gaffer I’ve had enough, I can’t mentally deal with this anymore, my body can’t deal with it’, it was a very difficult conversation for us to have.”<\/p>\n

Playing for Free<\/h3>\n

Thorne and Derby County parted ways at the start of 2020. The two parties agreed to a contract settlement. This allowed Thorne to return to Oxford<\/a> on a short-term contract. He was so desperate to play, that he did so without payment. This was before the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the finances of football clubs.<\/p>\n

Without a doubt, Oxford had made a terrific signing. They could not lose on a player who had been widely regarded as one of the best passers in the Championship<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic caused the suspension of the League 1<\/a> season. Shortly before, Thorne had started Oxford’s match against Accrington Stanley<\/a>. This was his fourth appearance for Oxford during February.<\/p>\n

Eventually, the League 1 2019\/20 season was declared finished via a points-per-game (PPG) ruling. Oxford, under PPG, qualified for the play-offs. Although, they would lose the final<\/a> to Wycombe Wanderers<\/a>. Thorne did not take part in the play-offs, due to fitness issues<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Thorne spoke to the Official Oxford United website<\/a> to thank the U’s supporters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve loved my time with Oxford,” said Thorne<\/p>\n

“It\u2019s a good club and the Gaffer and the lads have been brilliant.<\/p>\n

“I thank everyone at Oxford and wish the club well for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thorne’s future remains unclear. However, if he stays fit, then his new club could have quite a player.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Main Photo<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>