The 24-year-old suffered ruptured anterior cruciate ligaments in his knee during the 2-2 draw at Woking in January – ending his season and ruling him out of action for six months.
Cowperthwaite has now undergone an operation on the knee and AFC physio Sean Riley was able to work with him for the first time this week on his long road back to fitness. Riley reported all signs were positive for the utility man, who made 27 appearances for Barrow this season.
He said: “He’s had his operation and I’ve had him with me for the first time. He’s doing really well and he is where I would expect him to be.
“Niall is happy with it and we are just working on the early stages – regaining his bending and stretching.
“He has come off his crutches already and is walking without them. You can still tell when he walks that he has an issue, but in a few weeks you wouldn’t know any different.
“It will be six months still. This is my 19th ACL I’ve had to rehab with.
“The same consultant has done all 19 for me and we have always had good results.
“He is making good progress and he is where he should be. There should be no reason why he doesn’t carry on like that.”
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