Ford Dale’s now vacant Carlton Dry Honda CRF450R. Image: Simon Makker/Makkreative.com.

Carlton Dry Honda Racing’s Ford Dale has confirmed that he’ll undergo knee surgery next week, forcing him out of the final six rounds of the 2013 Monster Energy MX Nationals.

The Sunshine Coast resident has a ruptured ACL and MCL in his left knee, undergoing a reconstruction next week that will sideline him for a projected four to six months.

“I’ve been to a couple of surgeons now and will get surgery next week,” Dale told MotoOnline.com.au this afternoon. “I’m guessing it will be around four to six months, depending how my recovery goes.”

It’s a major blow for the current MX2 national champion, who entered the season under an injury cloud with his troublesome left knee and toughed it out through the first three rounds.

Dale’s season came to a close during his Super Pole lap at Broadford earlier this month, further injuring his knee and aborting the lap before opting out of the weekend’s proceedings.

The surgery will mark the fourth of his career, previously undergoing two to his right leg and one on the left back in 2011. His most recent operation came following Supercross last year.

It’s expected the Carlton Dry Honda Racing team will bring in a replacement on the factory-supported CRF450R of Dale, already fielding Daniel McCoy as the replacement of recently-retired Ben Townley.

Watch this space for further information when we have it.