Port Adelaide’s Charlie Dixon has admitted his broken leg was worse than he initially thought and he will need his rehabilitation to progress smoothly for him to be ready for round one of the AFL season.

Dixon required surgery after he fractured his right leg and sustained syndesmosis ligament damage in his ankle in a marking contest against West Coast in round 21.

“I saw a specialist in Sydney last week and he said that I could get stuck into (running) which is really good … he hasn’t ruled out round one or anything, fingers crossed I’ll be right, but it was a big injury,” Dixon told Fox Sports.