Carlisle United have suffered a major injury blow with news that Brennan Dickenson is set for a lengthy lay-off.

The Blues have confirmed that the left-sided player has suffered a small tear to his anterior cruciate ligament.

The extent of the training-ground injury was revealed in a scan after Dickenson had to miss last weekend's opening league game against Crawley Town.

United have not confirmed how long he will be out for - but he is unlikely to be available for some time.

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Paul Simpson, Carlisle's manager, described the news as a "huge blow".

Speaking on the club website, he added: "What we will do now is look after him and make sure he gets the right care and medical attention.

“He’ll see the surgeon in the next few days to determine the next course of action, be that surgery or further treatment.

“Bren is a strong character, so he’ll deal with it, but he’s obviously gutted that it’s happened when all he wants to be doing is getting out on the pitch and playing his part.”

It is the latest injury blow suffered by Dickenson in his time at Brunton Park.

The 29-year-old said: “It’s hard to explain just how frustrated I am that this has happened.

“Simmo has been fantastic with me, and coming back from my honeymoon at the start of pre-season I could feel the real positive vibe that there is around the whole club.

“You obviously want to be part of that but now, with this, it means that my focus has to be on getting whatever treatment is needed done, and then getting fit as quickly as I possibly can.

“I’ll be supporting the lads in every way I can while I do that and I know they’ll be helping me as well, because that’s the kind of group we are."

Dickenson joins Tobi Sho-Silva (hamstring) on the sidelines, with the news ruling him out of the chance to face his former club Colchester United this weekend.