Brennan Dickenson to stay at Colchester United

The U’s will take up their option to extend the winger’s current contract at the Weston Homes Community Stadium for a further 12 months.

Dickenson, who was Colchester’s Player of the Year last season, is one of several players who the club have an option to re-sign for next campaign, with their existing deals set to run out in the coming weeks.

And the 25-year-old, who was the subject of a failed bid from Ipswich Town last season, will be staying put at Colchester for at least another year.

Dickenson will miss the U’s final game of the League Two season at Exeter City, tomorrow.

The former Gillingham attacker has been sidelined for the last five weeks with a thigh injury, sustained just six weeks after he made a long-awaited return from his ten-month lay-off due to a cruciate ligament injury suffered in training in April, 2017.

Colchester head coach John McGreal said: “It’s desperately disappointing that we haven’t had Brennan available.

“It’s no coincidence that when Brennan came back, he gave us that injection of pace, width and balance.

“We actually thought that we had him until the end of the season and it’s been really disappointing that the injury has come along and kept him out for the last month or so of the season where we looking for that type of player to come in and give us the type of injection he did beforehand.

“It’s disappointing but we hope that come pre-season, we’ll have a fully fit Brennan Dickenson on our hands.”

Dickenson is currently working with Colchester’s sport scientist Stef Russo, as he looks to rebuild his fitness ahead of the summer break.

“He’ll be like a new player for us, next season,” added McGreal.

“I’m sure he’ll want to try and get himself fit before he leaves.

“The boys who aren’t fit are in for a couple of weeks after the season.

“The boys won’t go away injured – they will have to be at a certain level that we’ve implemented before we go away and Brennan should only be a couple of weeks.”