The Indianapolis Colts admitted defeat in Andrew Luck's fitness battle on Thursday, placing the star quarterback on injured reserve to effectively end his season.

Luck, one of the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL, has not played since week 17 of the 2016 season and underwent surgery in January on a troublesome right shoulder.

The 28-year-old has been in rehabilitation ever since but complained of soreness after he returned to practice on October 4.

"I wish I was better and 100 percent this season, but that's not the case," Luck said on the Colts website. "I know I'll be better from this. I know I'll be a better quarterback, teammate, person and player from this, and I'm excited for the future."

Luck, the top pick in the 2012 draft, had enjoyed arguably the best season of his career in 2016 after throwing for 4,240 yards with 31 touchdowns and only 13 interceptions.

Colts general manager Chris Ballard said on Monday the team and Luck "wanted to start getting some answers" after a recent course of cortisone shots failed to improve the quarterback's shoulder.

"Andrew's exhausted every avenue to try to get ready and get back and play, and that was our hope, also," Ballard said.

Head coach Chuck Pagano said the team would explore every option as they attempted to find a cure for the problem.

"We're going to exhaust all resources because the best interest is the player," Pagano said.

"It's long-term and we said that. It's for the next 10, 12 years for this guy and for any player.

"Before we put anybody out there, we're going to make sure he's right so we're going to stick to that process."

source: AFP