AS far as competitive debuts go, Brett Carter's first outing for Barrow Raiders certainly proved eventful – although not in the way he would have wanted.

It is just under a month since he made his bow in the 82-0 win over Hemel Stags in Kingstone Press League One, with everything seemingly going well after the winger got Raiders' second try of the match after 10 minutes.

However, a high-impact collision with a Hemel player meant he was forced from the field with barely 30 minutes on the clock and subsequently needed surgery on a broken cheekbone, which has sidelined him ever since.

The injury required surgery and Carter has only been able to watch as Barrow have extended their unbeaten start to the season to eight games, along with being one win away from both a place in the sixth round of the Challenge Cup and the final of the League One Cup.

Not that the off-season recruit from Workington Town has been idle for that time.

Far from it, because along with doing what he can in terms of training, he has also been hard at work in his day-job alongside team-mates Joe Bullock and Tom Walker in the club's community department.

“With me doing that side of things, I don't feel like I've come and been injured, and not been involved at all,” said Carter. “I can still offer a lot more like with going into the schools.

“We've been getting into quite a lot of schools and I think we've done over 15 in the first couple of terms and the reading programme we've been doing, the schools have absolutely loved that as well.

“It's something me and Tom have been doing up at Workington, and something Joe has taken on board as well which has been great.”

Carter's decision to sign for Barrow in the off-season marked something of a homecoming for him, hailing from the town and having been part of the club's old academy set-up before deciding to move up the coast to Derwent Park in 2009.

While the surroundings might be familiar, other things which have changed greatly during his time away from Raiders, and he is eager to get back to playing as soon as possible, especially with an important milestone looming.

“I live here and I've played for the club before, but it's a totally different team from when I was in the academy,” said Carter.

“I know most of the lads, but it has been great getting to know everyone properly. It's just frustrating being injured and not actually being on the pitch because that's where you properly bond with everybody.

“I've only played those two friendlies and then half-an-hour against Hemel, where I did my cheekbone, but I'm a little bit more positive with this one because I can still do training. It's not something that stops me running or anything.

“My next game is my 150th career game, so I'm absolutely dying to get back and play that one. I'm itching to get back on to the field and contribute there as well.”

Carter will again be watching on when Raiders head to York City Knights for tomorrow's Challenge Cup fifth-round tie, and must wait at least two more weeks before finding out when he could make a return to playing.

He is determined to show that time on the sidelines has not gone to waste though – signing up to train under Matty Green at his Cumbria Strength And Conditioning gym in Dalton just part of the plan to emerge from his recovery period an improved player.

“I've just got be a little bit careful lifting weights because of the pressure in my head,” said Carter. “I've got another CT scan six weeks after my operation just to see if it has healed and then I'll probably know how long I've got to go after that before I can play.

“It shouldn't be too much longer, I think, so it's looking really positive. I've signed up to 10 sessions with Matty Green, so it's not like I'm just sat around waiting to come back and play.

“I'm really going to work on a lot of stuff in-between now and getting back, and hopefully I'll be a better player for it.”