Allen Roberts has become Miami University’s third knee casualty this season.

MU men’s basketball coach John Cooper confirmed Thursday that Roberts will miss the rest of the year with a slight meniscus tear in his right knee.

Roberts, a redshirt junior guard from Middletown, is the leading scorer (12.7) for the 8-20 RedHawks. Teammates Bill Edwards and Drew McGhee also had their 2012-13 seasons ended prematurely because of knee injuries.

“It stunned me,” Roberts said of Monday’s MRI results, which revealed a two-centimeter tear in the same knee that sidelined him for the entire 2011-12 campaign. “I just thought it was going to be sore a little bit, and we’d do some rehab and just play through it. I didn’t think it would be anything like that.”

He can’t pinpoint when the injury occurred. Roberts said it could’ve happened in December when MU played at Wright State. He noticed some swelling after last Saturday’s Kent State game, leading to the MRI.

“It just popped out of the blue,” Roberts said. “The cortisone shot I got before the Wright State game might have masked the pain. I drive to the basket a lot, so it could’ve just progressed and got worse, or it could’ve just happened all at one time. I have no idea.”

Last year’s knee injury was a cartilage and bone issue, so the meniscus tear is something new. Roberts said he’s waiting to see if his doctor recommends surgery.

“If he does, it’ll be real minor,” Roberts said. “I’ll be back to 100 percent in about six weeks. I’ll be active all summer.”

Miami closes the regular season at Ohio on Saturday, then will begin Mid-American Conference tournament play on the road Monday. Roberts said he’ll be a restless bystander.

“Just to sit out one or two games irks my nerves,” he said. “From a personal standpoint, I did OK this year. But losing is terrible. I would rather win than have individual glory any day.”

Roberts shot 39.2 percent from the floor, 34.4 percent from 3-point range and 80.3 percent from the foul line this year.