Cape Town - Stoke City striker Peter Odemwingie is remaining positive after undergoing knee surgery, asserting that the injury serves as a "new beginning".
The Nigeria international was forced to go under the knife after picking up the injury during the Potters' 1-0 win over Manchester City in late August.
The injury meant that Odemwingie was not included in Stoke's Premier League squad, and as a result he cannot turn out for Mark Hughes' side until January at the earliest, regardless of his fitness.
Rather than be too downhearted, the 33-year-old is putting all of his energy into his recovery.
"I'm happy the operation was successful, it's like a new beginning," Odemwingie told BBC Sport.
"I want to come back stronger than ever and hopefully pick up from where I stopped in August.
"I know it's going to be a long road back to kicking a football again but I am mentally prepared for that. You can't keep a good man down.
"It took couple of weeks to get the surgery done because I had to wait for the knee to settle down.
"Now that it's done I believe it will give me a new lease of life for the rest of my professional career."