Craig Tanner admits he is starting to see "light at the end of the tunnel" after being told he can step up his comeback from major knee surgery.

The Motherwell striker suffered a ruptured patella tendon in a freak training ground accident in March and was told he faced six months out.

It resulted in the former Reading player missing out on two trips to Hampden as the Steelmen finished the campaign with their Scottish Cup final defeat to Celtic.

But the 23-year-old, who had netted nine times before his injury, is determined to return to action as soon as possible after specialists gave him the green light to increase his rehabilitation work.

“I saw the surgeon when I came back from holiday, and he’s really happy with how it’s going," said Tanner. "And I can start to up my rehab a bit now.

“I’m not going to say out loud when my target is, because I think that would be silly, but as soon as the fixtures came out I texted [physio] Davie [Henderson] my target.

“It’s one I’ll push myself for, but a realistic one at the same time. I’m starting to see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel.

“I’ve still got a bit of a journey to go but I’ll be making every day count now and striving towards my target.”

Tanner joined the Fir Park club last summer on a two-year deal and impressed in 23 starts in his curtailed campaign.

And the Surrey-born attacker is desperate to make a big impression on his return.

He added: “When I come back from my injury I don’t want to just blend into the background, I want to come back and make an impact and turn heads.

“That’s what’s going to be motivating me and driving me forward.”