Exciting defender Jackson Thurlow is in good spirits following surgery to repair the torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

The 22-year-old sustained the injury in the third quarter of the Cats’ second NAB Challenge match against Essendon in Shepparton and will miss the entire 2016 season.

With the surgical element of his knee construction now complete, the young Tasmanian is ready to throw himself into the next phase of his lengthy rehabilitation.

“From all reports it went really well,” Thurlow said of his surgery.

“I think the surgeon and our physios were really happy with it. It’s just a matter of getting the swelling down now and then I can start getting into a bit of rehab.”

The road back from a significant injury such as Thurlow’s is traditionally one of ups and downs, but the defender is remaining patient as he looks to re-launch his 29-game career with Geelong.

“It’ll be pretty slow to start with but I think once I can sort of get moving and walking I’ll start to make some big improvements. I’ll start swimming, riding a bike and that kind of thing,” Thurlow said.

“I guess it’s a slow process the first two weeks but I’m not in too much pain which is a great result and I’ve been spending a lot of time on the couch.”