Billy Clarke in now taking the first steps in his rehabilitation as he looks to return from cruciate ligament damage.

The striker, who sustained the injury in the Seasiders' first pre-season friendly at Tiverton Town in July, was operated on just over three weeks ago and is now in the process of building muscle again.

"The operation went well according to the surgeon and I'm just on a slow rehab at the moment," the 22-year-old told the official website. "I just need to get my leg working and bending and make sure that I don't lose much muscle in my thigh and that area. That's probably the plan for the next six-to-eight weeks.

"You always lose muscle anyway with a lack of activity like running and weights. I haven't really done anything since I did my cruciate so it will be hard graft to get it back."

His concentration at the moment relies solely on knee movement, with any other form of exercise to follow in due course.

"I need to get a full range of movement back in my knee and then I can hopefully start cycling," he revealed. "I'll probably be able to start light jogging a month after that."

Watching the Seasiders' debut season in the Barclays Premier League from the sidelines has been extremely difficult, with the Irishman quick to admit that he was desperate to be involved at Wigan.

"The lads have done brilliantly but I'm not too good at watching. Winning 4-0 at the start of the season was great but in my head I just wanted to be out there."

The manager opted to keep Stephen McPhee, who was in a similar situation, involved with the first-team last season by allowing him to work on a calendar to raise funds for Brian House Children's Hospice. Billy is now in the process of trying to decide what he'll do for charity during his time off the pitch.

"We did a calendar last year so I'll have to choose a charity to raise funds for and think about what I'm going to do. I'll probably speak to the boys first," he added.

Having missed out on squad registration due to the long-term nature of his injury, Clarke isn't expected to return to full fitness until the latter part of the campaign.