Panthers suffer brutal loss with devastating injury to up-and-coming rookie

Just when he was getting going, Carolina Panthers cornerback Corey Thornton will now have to call it a season.

As announced on Tuesday afternoon by head coach Dave Canales, the rookie defender sustained a broken fibula in last night's 20-9 loss to the San Francisco 49ers. He is set to undergo surgery and will miss the remainder of the campaign.

The Panthers signed Thornton as an undrafted free agent this past spring. The 6-foot-1, 195-pounder went on to become one of the team's standouts during the summer, and earned himself a spot on the initial 53-man roster.

He played a career-high 46 defensive snaps in Carolina's Week 11 win over the Atlanta Falcons. That performance resulted in a 73.3 overall defense grade from Pro Football Focus, the Panthers' second-highest of the game.

Thornton had recorded 32 defensive snaps on Monday prior to his exit.

Canales added that fellow cornerback Jaycee Horn and inside linebacker Claudin Cherelus, both of whom also left early last night, are in concussion protocol.

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This article originally appeared on Panthers Wire: Panthers injury updates: CB Corey Thornton out for season