Cam Newton's season is likely over after the Carolina Panthers placed the former MVP on the injured reserve list.

The Panthers announced on Tuesday that the foot injury which has restricted Newton to appearing in just two games in 2019 would now effectively end his season.

Newton, voted MVP in 2015 after a season in which he took the Panthers to the Super Bowl, started all but three games in his first seven years in the league.

However, a shoulder injury meant he missed the last two weeks of the 2018 season, and despite starting Carolina's first two games this year, he was clearly hampered by a foot injury sustained in preseason.

Though he could return for the playoffs if the Panthers made the NFL's postseason, Newton's campaign is almost certainly over.

"For the past seven weeks, Cam has diligently followed a program of rest and rehab and still is experiencing pain in his foot," Panthers general manger Marty Hurney said on his team's website.

"He saw two foot specialists last week who agreed that he should continue that path prescribed by the team’s medical staff, and that it likely will take significant time for the injury to fully heal.

"We have said all along that it is impossible to put a timetable on this injury. Nobody is more frustrated with that fact than Cam.

"He's one of the fiercest competitors I've been around during my 20-plus years in the league. At this time, we have decided that the best decision to reach the goal of bringing the foot back to 100 per cent is to place Cam on injured reserve."

The Panthers have gone 5-1 in Newton's absence, with Kyle Allen impressing at quarterback to lead the team to a 5-3 record.

Newton's long-term future in Carolina appears unclear as he will be entering the final year of his deal in 2020.