FOR the first two months of the new county cricket season, you will not see Bury batting star Harry Dearden's name on any scorecards due to a nearly mended left knee injury.

Dearden, aged 20, ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament while trying to field a ball playing for Leicestershire last season.

He went under the knife almost immediately and missed the closing stages of the campaign.

That he has to sit on the sidelines during the early stages of this season seems like a hard luck story, especially for a young player trying to build his career.

But the left-handed former Tottington High and Bury College student is anything but downbeat. He has overcome adversity before – when he left Lancashire in 2015 – and is determined to do so again.

"I'm six months post-op now, and everything's going really well at the minute," he said.

"I've started running and batting again in the last couple of weeks. It's been a long winter, but I've learnt a lot. It's actually been quite productive, although I've not hit many cricket balls.

"Ideally, I'll be fit in the middle to end of May, so I'll miss around the first two months.

"It's got to be done as efficiently as possible. Of course I want to be back quickly, but I don't want to be back to square one. I've got to be careful."

Dearden's career at Leicester remains in its infancy, but has already shown significant signs of promise. Since the closing stages of 2016, he has played 12 County Championship matches, scoring 437 runs with two half-centuries.

Ten of those appearances came in Division Two last summer against plenty of high-class bowling.

"We played against Nottingham twice with Stuart Broad, James Pattinson and Jake Ball," he said. "We also played Sussex, who had Jofra Archer, Chris Jordan and Vernon Philander.

"Even some of the other teams had really good bowlers. It was difficult, but I learnt a lot about my game."

After leaving Lancashire, Dearden played one second-team match for Hampshire. But it was Leicester who gave him his chance, and he earned a two-year contract through to the end of this year.

"It's been really good," he said. "It was a big move away leaving home, but it's definitely paid off.

"It was a difficult choice to leave Lancs, but I wanted to play cricket. I didn't see that happening there.

"Lancs told me they weren't going to offer me a contract, but they did say I could train and play in their second team. I decided I wanted to try my chances somewhere else."

What about the pressure that comes with having to find an opening elsewhere?

"I felt like I didn't have much to lose," he went on. "It wasn't as if I was chancing a contract at Lancs. It was a case of 'go and try it. If it works, great. If it doesn't, it wasn't meant to be'.

"I didn't feel any pressure. I just wanted to showcase what I have.

"I would have gone to university if it hadn't worked out. I had a spot at Leeds Met lined up to do sport."

Dearden is not the only Lancastrian at Grace Road. Bolton's Callum Parkinson is there as a player, as are Paul Horton and Gavin Griffiths. Tom Smith has just joined as second-team coach. It was something he says helped him settle into life in the East Midlands.

He retains strong links with Bury life. He has signed to play for boyhood club Woodbank when possible in this summer's GMCL, moving from Hyde.

"I grew up and played there from 10 or 11 years old," he said. "It's quite exciting, and hopefully we can win some silverware."

And, as for 2018 aims with Leicester, he added: "Ultimately, I want to get back in the red ball team and get that first first-class hundred.

"For the team, we just want to improve on last year. Red ball cricket wasn't great, but we did challenge with the white ball.

"I'm hopeful of breaking into those white ball teams as well, I still think I've got skills I can show. I'm definitely looking forward to that challenge."

On his move to Woodbank, he said: "I went to Ramsbottom for a season and then Hyde for two, but I've gone back to Woodbank and am really looking forward to it.

"It's the new GMCL, and there's a lot of positives. My dad's there and a couple of my mates. I went watching them a few times last season, and it was really competitive. Some people have written it as a tin pot league, but it's definitely not.

"I saw Woodbank against Flixton, who won the league. It was a low-scoring game, but a very good one. Woodbank bowled Flixton out for 100 before they bowled Woodbank out for 60 or 70. It was good, hard cricket all the way through, and it was really good to see."