CDR Yamaha’s Dan Reardon is back on track ahead of his Australian Supercross Championship title defence despite undergoing knee surgery in July to repair a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

Reardon was injured on 3 July at Nowra’s sixth round of the MX Nationals, undergoing a ligament transplant the following week in a bid to fast-track his return to racing and defending his number one plate.

The alternative surgery method has allowed 30-year-old Reardon to commence his on-bike preparations already ahead of the season-opener at Jimboomba, Queensland, on 17 September. He said it was vital that he lines up for the supercross season at this stage of his career.

“Things are actually going better than I originally anticipated them to be,” Reardon told MotoOnline.com.au. “Even the fact that I’ve been off the bike for a long time, everyone knows the ACL’s not a small injury to overcome, but I’ve been working my arse off to get to this point I’m at right now.

“I wanted to ride a little bit earlier, but everyone was advising me not to. I’ve been back on the bike for three days now and things are going good – the knee’s strong and it’s allowing me to do what I need to do on the bike again.

“Regardless of how you fix your ACL, the surgery is always exactly the same, so this surgery is no different to anybody else, except I haven’t taken my own hamstring. The procedure is exactly the same, but you are able to get around and move a lot sooner.

“It takes a long time for the ACL to 100 percent heal and it will still be another six, eight or maybe 12 months before it’s fully strong again, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t already strong. At this point in my career, I can’t afford to be out for a year, six months or whatever it may be, so my choice was based on the supercross season and what I want out of my career.

“Surgery was the best choice and I’m glad I made it. I nearly didn’t get surgery, but I am glad that I did. I can do pretty much anything, so we’re in a good place. The plan now is to spend as much time on the bike as I can – we’ll do what we can and regardless I’ll be ready. We’re going into the first round with the intention of taking that one out.”

Reardon will be CDR Yamaha’s primary hope for the 2016 Australian Supercross Championship, with teammate Dean Ferris – who enters this weekend’s MX Nationals decider with a legitimate shot at the crown – more widely-recognised for his outdoor prowess.