Kyle Lightbourne's luck just seems to go from bad to worse.

The Bermudian striker, transfer-listed by English Third Division side Macclesfield Town, damaged his shoulder while playing for Hull City at the weekend.

Lightbourne is on loan with the Tigers until April 20, but preliminary examinations have suggested his season is over.

Hull went down 4-0 at home to Luton at the weekend and Lightbourne had to be replaced midway through the second-half after falling awkwardly.

A spokesman for the East Yorkshire side told The Royal Gazette yesterday: "Basically, he has injured a shoulder and he is going to be out for five or six weeks. I think it is ligament damage from what I understand."

The incident could not come at a worse time for Lightbourne who was hoping to impress new Hull boss Jan Molby, who took charge of his first game on Saturday.

"I have just spoken to our manager and he (Lightbourne) will obviously just return to Macclesfield," the spokesman added.

Lightbourne has failed to find the back of the net during his time at Boothferry Park and Hull's slim play-off hopes have been killed off.

However, the spokesman said he didn't believe Lightbourne himself should shoulder the blame.

"He only played one game for Jan Molby which was Saturday," he said. "Prior to that he had done alright but he hadn't scored a goal and the hope was that he would come in and score a few.

"But, to be fair, he has come into a team that is playing with no confidence whatsoever. It would be hard for anyone to come in and make an impact at the minute because the confidence has just gone."

There had been hopes of a permanent move for the player come the summer but that might not now come to fruition.

"He came in before Jan arrived so whether Jan will pursue the interest or not I am not 100 percent sure," said the spokesman.

Colin Garlick, Macclesfield's chairman, said he was not aware of the injury but said it was a bitter blow for the player when told.

"It's a shame it didn't work out at Hull. The potential at Hull, given that they are getting regular crowds of 8,000 and 9,000 is very big," he said. "It is the fourth or fifth biggest city in the country and they don't have a football team in the top tiers of the game.

"It was an opportunity for Kyle and it is a shame that it has not worked out for either Hull or himself."

As for his career at Macclesfield, Garlick said there were a number of avenues to be explored for Lightbourne and Silkmen boss Dave Moss.

"I think there is a mutual respect between the manager and Kyle and I think a number of doors are open to them," he said. "I don't think they are closing on anything really.

"If Kyle believes there is an opportunity for him to progress his career I don't think David would stand in his way. But I think David knows that if he is here, and accepts that he is under contract for next year, he can count on him to act in a professional way and do the best that he can for Macclesfield Town."

Should Lightbourne move on, Garlick said the club would definitely seek a fee for the player who still has a year to run on a reportedly lucrative contract.

"Kyle is an international football player. The contract he is on here, I think, is worthy of compensation," he said.