Summer signing Lee Martin is close to recovering fully from his injury shocker.

He’s now got a fully functioning ankle, complete with six pins, a metal plate and two new ligaments.

Martin’s injury could have been career ending, after breaking and dislocating his ankle at Leyton Orient during a pre-season game but the advance of medical science means he could be back playing by the end of the month.

“The surgeon was amazing,” said the 29-year-old. “To be back in five months with a full range of movement in my ankle is incredible. The surgeon has done wonders.

“The worst is behind me and from now until the end of the season it will be about getting as many minutes on the pitch as possible and strengthening my ankle for the remainder of my career.”

Martin, speaking about the incident at Orient for the first time, described the horrific injury. He said: “It was painful and I felt everything go. It clicked and I looked down and my ankle was pointing the wrong way. I knew I had done something bad.

“I ruptured my ankle ligaments when I was 21 and don’t think I ever recovered from that. There was a definite weakness there but for the best part of eight to nine years I had been fine.

“I just caught my foot on the hard ground and it didn’t move. The middle of the pitch was soaking wet but down the goalmouths was rock hard, like concrete. My studs went one way and my whole body turned. My leg didn’t go with me.

“I tried to stay calm but knew it was bad. I needed to get it clicked in straight away.”

Physio Adam Roach clicked the ankle back in on the pitch before Martin was taken to Whipps Cross Hospital in Leytonstone. His mum had been at the game and she went with him.

Martin said: “I needed to have my ankle fully reset and they said it might hurt. I blacked out and when I came back around, my mum told me it took six people to hold me down and there was a lot of swearing!"

Martin was left facing an uncertain future, with a healing time of up to nine months.

He was at Manchester United in 2006 when Alan Smith suffered a similar injury after a challenge from Liverpool’s John Arne Riise.

Smith took over a year to recover but Martin’s diagnosis was much better.

“I was just fortunate not to break the main weight-bearing bone but I did everything else in my ankle,” Martin said.

“The time dropped down to seven months and then five. I was like ‘I can work with that’ and it helped me kick on.”

Martin has a return date in mind but is keeping it to himself. But he’s now back in full training and already testing his ankle.

Full story in Friday's Medway Messenger