Garner is currently in rehabilitation following his serious knee injury

Carlisle United manager John Ward says the club are doing "all they can" to keep highly-rated striker Joe Garner at Brunton Park.

Nottingham Forest are set to increase their offer for the 20-year-old after their initial bid of �500,000 was rejected by the League One club.

"Joe is still a Carlisle player," Ward told BBC Radio Cumbria.

"I want to see him in a Carlisle shirt again next season and the club are doing all they can to achieve that."

Garner has not travelled with the Carlisle squad to their pre-season training camp in Scotland as speculation continues to grow that he will move to the City Ground before the start of the new season.

We have come up here to train but Joe isn't yet at the level where he can do that John Ward

"Joe is working on his rehab at Blackburn Rovers at the moment. Unfortunately, there isn't the facility to do that where we are staying,

"We have come up here to train but Joe isn't yet at the level where he can do that."

Garner, a former England youth international, joined the Cumbrians from Blackburn in August 2007 for a club record �140,000 fee.

He scored 14 goals in 30 league appearances last season before a serious cruciate knee ligament injury saw him undergo surgery in February.

Meanwhile, Ward is set to open contract talks with several of his squad in a bid to extend their current deals.

A number of players, including club captain Paul Thirlwell and last season's top scorer Danny Graham, still have 12 months left on their existing contracts.

However, Ward is hoping to avoid a repeat of the situation that saw Karl Hawley leave the club for Preston on a Bosman free transfer in 2007 when the Cumbrians failed to tie the striker down to a new contract.