Colchester United skipper Luke Prosser admits he no choice but to undergo further knee surgery that will cause him to miss the start of the new season.

The 29-year-old defender had been nearing the end of his rehabilitation, having undergone an initial operation on his right knee, last November.

However, Prosser was suffering pain when he was striking the ball and went under the knife again to mend his damaged kneecap.

The surgery was a success but the former Southend United centre-back is likely to be out for a further eight weeks.

However, Prosser is targeting a mid-September return and admits the additional procedure was unavoidable.

Prosser told the Daily Gazette: “I was joining in with the rest of the players with the training and doing running but I was at the stage where it was giving me discomfort in what I was doing.

“I was struggling with striking the ball and got a bit of pain going through my knee cap and I needed to see the specialist to sort it out.

“He said it was definitely something I had to get done - it’s obviously not as bad as the first one but we need to get it right.”

Prosser was forced to watch his Colchester team-mates from the sidelines in the second half of last season, after suffering his knee injury last November.

But he has been a regular spectator at U’s games and was at their friendly at Braintree Town, last weekend.

“It’s frustrating - it’s been hard being out for so long, I’m not going to lie,” said Prosser, who is due to go and see the surgeon for an update next week.

“I’ve tried to get to as many games as possible while I’ve been out, otherwise I feel like I’m missing out.

“It’s been difficult writing the programme notes, not having been involved in the games myself.

“I missed a large chunk of last season and unfortunately, there were a few of us who were out at the same time.

“But it helped to have others around me going through a similar thing as we all pulled together doing the gym sessions and the rehab.”

Meanwhile, Prosser says Colchester will be aiming for automatic promotion when the new League Two season kicks off on Saturday week.

The U’s missed out on the play-offs by a single point last season, despite having to cope with a host of injuries to key players.

“It’s looking positive,” added Prosser, who joined Colchester from their Essex rivals Southend United, last summer.

“The gaffer has strengthened over the last few weeks.

“I think we should be aiming for the play-offs as a minimum, especially after how well last season went with the injuries we had.

“The gaffer has said that having everyone back fit is like having new signings, having not had them last year.

“It’ll be a tough division and I think teams like Mansfield and Luton will be strong but we’re strong too and I don’t think there’s any reason why we shouldn’t go for automatic promotion.

“The game against Ipswich tonight will be a big test and they’ll be bringing quite a strong team, so the next couple of games will show where we are at this stage, I think.”