Missouri junior quarterback James Franklin will undergo surgery to repair his injured right shoulder, and he will miss the remainder of spring camp, but is expected to be ready for the beginning of the 2012 season.

Franklin, who threw for 2,865 yards and 21 touchdowns and ran for 981 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2011 as a first-year starter, injured his shoulder last Tuesday in practice when he jumped on a fumble at the end of a play. During the scramble, a defender landed on his outstretched arm, causing the shoulder injury, which was diagnosed as a sprained glenohumeral (GH) joint.

Initially, surgery was not included in the diagnosis, and it was hoped that Franklin would be able to return prior to the end of spring camp, which concludes April 14th with the annual Black & Gold Spring Game. However, after further evaluation, it was decided that repairing the injury surgically would be in Franklin’s best interests long-term.

“We’re disappointed for James naturally,” said MU Head Coach Gary Pinkel. “But this is absolutely the right thing to do, and we all know he’ll be in great hands, as we have the best doctors and trainers in the nation. James has an outstanding work ethic, and he’ll be able to get past this setback just fine. We expect him to be 100 percent and ready to go for the season. Until then, our younger guys will benefit from more reps and more work with the number one offense, and we’ll look at that as a positive,” he said.

Franklin’s surgery will be performed this Friday and a timetable for his return to throwing will be determined following the procedure.