Carlisle United have suffered a blow, losing busy midfielder Callum Guy for up to 10 months.
Manager Paul Simpson told the United website that Guy, who was carried off in Saturday’s FA Cup-tie at Leyton Orient, has suffered ACL damage.
Simpson said: “He’s not great, it’s not great news. He has damage to his ACL and if I’m going to be honest we didn’t expect it to be good news.
“He’s been in to see the surgeon after getting the results of his scan and basically he wants him to have two or three weeks to try and get his full range of movement back into his knee.
“The idea will be that we’re probably looking at surgery for him around about December 5 if he gets his full range of movement, but with this type of injury it will be a nine or ten month recovery, so he is done for this season. The challenge for us now is to make sure we look after him properly.
“Callum is a big part of the group and he’s been here for a good few years. Unfortunately he’s had a couple of MCL injuries in the past so he knows how to deal with long-term injuries.
“I don’t think that makes it any easier, it’s still going to be tough for him. It’s up to us and the rest of the players to make sure we all rally round him and look after him. I think he’s coming back into the club next Monday, and we’ll just help him as much as we possibly can. Whatever support he needs, we will make sure he gets it.
“He’s got a good family behind him. He’s now got an opportunity where he can really make himself physically stronger, do all his upper body stuff, when he comes back he can make sure he’s got real power in both legs and come back in a really good physical state.
“When you get this sort of injury you have to look at it as an opportunity to try and come back better. I’m sure that’s the way Callum will address the situation.
“He feared the worst straight away. When I spoke to him on the coach on the way back, he said it felt worse than the MCL he had years ago. On Monday he seemed in a not a good place, but he seemed quite set on what needs to be done.
“He understands the rehab that goes with it, and I would imagine his mind now is more about just let’s get the surgery done, let’s get it all dealt with and then he can properly start on his rehab.
“The difficulty now is he’s got three weeks where he’s got to try and build up the strength in the area around the knee, start to get his range of movement back, and then the surgery can take place. Then he knows he’s got that lengthy period after it. He seems ok, or as ok as you can be knowing you’ve got 9-10 months out.”
