Andy Parkinson could miss the rest of this season due to a ruptured Anterior Cruciate Ligament, it was confirmed today.

The winger was seen by consultant surgeon Mr Dennis Edwards today and he confirmed that Parkinson, who joined the club last month on a free transfer from Notts County, will require surgery in the next 10-14 days and could spend most of the rest of this season rehabilitating.

"The MRI scans confirmed our clinical findings that he has ruptured his Anterior Cruciate Ligament and he also as a tear of the lateral meniscus (cartilage)," physio Greg Reid told cambridgeunited.com after the appointment.

"The one positive about this scenario is that our swift response to the injury, in terms of the management of it, has prevented a larger haemothrosis developing in the joint. That means he can have the reconstructive surgery at an earlier date than if there had been a huge amount of bleeding in the joint."

The next stage will be for Parkinson, who twisted the knee in training on Monday, to undergo surgery in the next 10-14 days. In the meantime the unstable knee will be protected and he will use crutches to avoid any weight bearing and prevent further damage.

"Once he's had the reconstruction then we start the rehab programme," added Greg. "I've rehabbed many ACL injuries over the year and every knee is unique, so every injury and every surgery is unique and there are many variables involved.

"That makes it pointless to try to put a timescale on it but realistically it's fair to say that Parky is out for the season."

Greg also attended Courtney Pitt's knee surgery at the Nuffield Hospital this morning [earlier article], in which Mr Edwards repaired the injury he suffered in the pre-season game against West Ham, and his anticipated recovery period is three months.

"He's in a knee brace at present and isn't allowed to bend his knee for two weeks, which is when he will go back to see the specialist," Greg explained. "Based on how it looks then we'll be able to start a steady rehab programme and he'll be able to start flexing his knee in a controlled manner under the surgeon's guidelines.

"For six weeks he'll be able to do very little at all because it would defeat the object of having the sutures done if we then mobilise him too early and compromise the repair. After that we'll hopefully get the all-clear to extend his range of motion and get him going again."

Greg extended his sincere thanks to our consultant orthopaedic surgeon Mr Dennis Edwards for his ongoing help to the club and its players.

"He's a world-class knee surgeon and he's in huge demand and usually booked up for 6-8 weeks, but he has given us so much help with these two players over the last couple of days.

"He understands the demands of sport and he will always go out of his way to help us out," Greg added.

"He fitted Parky in at the drop of a hat and created a slot for us, we had him scanned yesterday and he looked at the scans this morning as soon as he had finished with Courtney. The fact that he is so accommodating is a massive benefit to myself personally and obviously for the players and the football club.

"We owe him a huge debt of gratitude. He's an absolutely first class surgeon and to give you an idea of how highly he is respected, the only other person I would want to operate on our guys' knees is for the club to fly me and the injured player out to Colorado to see Dick Steadman, and I can't see that happening!

"Our players really are in the best of hands and we owe our very sincere thanks to a top guy."

Our SMS subscribers get the news FIRST through the club's official SMS alert service. No rumours or speculation, just the NEWS direct from the club - send CLUB CAMB NEWS to 88442. Alerts 25p. Subscribe and unsubscribe at any time - click here for full details.

Make Your Click Count For The U's - talk about it on the Message Board!

You are respectfully reminded that any article, as with all content on this website, unless otherwise stated, is subject to copyright © and the Official Cambridge United Website must be acknowledged as the original source including all quotes.

AT080813