But with a pre-season return on the cards, the South African born wing has made the most of his lay-off, dedicating time to his studies as he works towards qualifying as a plumber at Neath Port Talbot College.
And while Dirksen, who finished as the club's top try scorer last season as they won the RaboDirect PRO12 crown, has pulled the plug on his campaign, that does not mean his time on the sidelines have been wasted.
"It's been frustrating in terms of me not being able to play rugby, obviously," he said.
"I'm a young man and a pro rugby player. That's what I'm paid to do and it's what I want to do so anything that stops me doing that isn't nice.
"It's been a good period for me away from rugby though if I'm honest about it. I'm in college, doing my trade as a plumber, and having a few months away from rugby has allowed me to catch up on that so it hasn't been all bad.
"I'm not feeling too bad now to be honest. I came off the crutches two weeks ago so it's nice to be walking around properly again and trying to get the muscles back in my leg.
"Hopefully I can start running again in about three or four weeks and I'm excited about that prospect. It's been a long time."
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