Richard Davies wants to put his knee injury nightmare behind him after a year out.

The defender, 21, made his return from a ruptured cruciate ligament as a second-half substitute during Maidstone’s League Cup win over Cray on Tuesday night.

He said: “I’d like to say I can come back stronger and better. There’s no reason why I shouldn’t. It’s just my confidence and believing in my knee.

“I doubt it at times but you’ve got to be confident, otherwise there’s no point trying to come back if you don’t think you can get better.”

Davies was settling in nicely after his move from Kent League champions Erith & Belvedere when he was injured during an FA Cup tie at Merstham in September last year.It’s been a long road back for the right-back who has faced physical and mental challenges.

He said: “I went to turn, heard my knee click, it gave way and that was it. I hoped it was a minor thing. I kind of dreaded it when the physio said he thought it was a cruciate ligament.

“I went to hospital and they said it was sprained ligaments, so that boosted my confidence a little bit. But I had the MRI scan and realised it was a rupture.

“It’s mentally and physically tough, probably more mentally. You’ve got to get over the fact it happened. I just want to push on now and forget about it as much as I can.”

Read the full interview in Friday's Kent Messenger.