Aiden Palmer has vowed to overcome his career-threatening knee injury and earn a new contract at Ebbsfleet United.

The 28-year-old has arthritis and cartilage damage and he’s already been out of action for four months.

Palmer admitted he was scared when doctors told him he risked losing his livelihood as a footballer if the injury got any worse.

The father to a young family, Palmer went full-time with Ebbsfleet last summer but his current deal runs out at the end of this season.

He said: "I need to manage it properly because it is a career-threatening injury.

"If it goes again, I’d need an operation and I could be out for six to nine months.

"If the op didn’t go well, my career is finished.

"A lot of people have told me ‘it’s not serious, you can play on it’ but when I sat down and talked to Jamie (Day) and the surgeon, they said ‘this is career-threatening.’

"It was scary. I rang my missus straight after and I was in tears.

"I come into training, I put on a brave face and don’t let anyone know that it bothers me.

"But I’m not going to lie, I sleep on it most nights and go in to training thinking about it.

"It plays on my mind a lot of the time. I need to think long-term now because if it goes, I can’t even run around with my kids."

"If I lose this, what am I going to do?

"Football’s been my life so I can’t afford to let this beat me. I’ve been through much worse than this and I know I can beat it. It’s in me to beat this.

"I know for a fact I’ll come back better. I’ve trained a couple of times and I feel fit and strong.

"I want to stay at this club. The club’s on the way up and this is where I want to be.

"I’ve played against the gaffer a few times but it’s different when you have a long-term injury. I just need to work hard and prove to him what I can do so I can get a new deal.

"He’s told me about coming back in pre-season but I don’t want to come back and not get paid. I want him to say ‘you’ve done well in those games and you deserve a contract’.

"I’m more determined and more focused than ever to earn another deal at Ebbsfleet United."

Read the full interview in the Gravesend Messenger.