The long road back to fitness starts now for Brennan Dickenson after the Carlisle United player underwent successful surgery.

Dickenson went under the knife to repair an anterior cruciate knee ligament tear.

He is now facing months of rehabilitation with the 29-year-old unlikely to feature this season.

Manager Paul Simpson said it was important the former Colchester United man had cleared the first key hurdle on his long way back.

And Simpson stressed he will get all the support he needs.

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“His operation went really well,” Simpson said.

“He was a straightforward ACL repair – if you could ever call that straightforward.

“He’s back in the club now. He came back in on Tuesday, and the good thing for Brennan is he now has something to look forward to, and can start on his recovery.

“He knows surgery has gone as we hoped, and all he can do now is get through his recovery, his work.

“He’s still making very tiny steps at the moment. The first 12 weeks are really important that they are done properly.

News and Star: Fitness coach Geoff Haugh will be helping oversee Dickenson's rehab (photo: Barbara Abbott)Fitness coach Geoff Haugh will be helping oversee Dickenson's rehab (photo: Barbara Abbott)

“But we will give him the best care we possibly can and hopefully he’ll progress like Joel Senior and Josh Dixon are [after similar injuries].

“They are working really hard in the gym at the moment with their recovery.”

Simpson highlighted the role played by rehab coach Geoff Haugh in Dickenson’s recovery and that of other sidelined players.

“[On Thursday] I was watching Josh, Joel and Tobi [Sho-Silva] getting slogged by Geoff during their rehab,” he said.

“They’re all working extremely hard and they’re coming on really well."