Margate manager Nikki Bull says he fears the knee injury skipper Brett Johnson picked up at Hampton & Richmond on Saturday could sideline the player for the foreseeable future.

The experienced defender left the field on a stretcher after colliding with his own keeper Valery Pajetat in the 84th minute of the 1-0 defeat and Bull admits he can’t see him coming back in a hurry.

Bull said: “The medical team were confident on Saturday that it wasn’t the cruciate or any of the main ligaments but then Brett sent me a picture message on Sunday and his knee was the size of a balloon.

“We’re trying to organise for him to have a scan as quickly as possible but even allowing for the fact he’s a good healer, we’ve got to resign ourselves to losing him for the foreseeable future.

“He’ll be a massive loss for us because Brett has put his heart and soul into everything and I’m sure he’s one of the reasons we’ve remained as competitive as we have.

“I’ve got nothing but the utmost respect for what he’s done over the past few months.”

Johnson’s injury capped another disappointing afternoon for the Blues – for whom defeat was their 14th in a row – leaving them stuck at the foot of Vanarama National League South.

Bull added: “I know I’m probably beginning to sound like a cracked record but I couldn’t fault the boys.

“Again they gave me everything in terms of effort and work-rate but we’re playing in a division two below the Football League and we’re running on the lowest budget since I’ve been here.

“A third of the squad who travelled to Hampton aren’t receiving a penny and that’s what we’re up against.”

Margate – without a home league goal since October 22 – return to Hartsdown Park on Saturday when they host 13th placed Wealdstone and Johnson’s absence is compounded by the fact that Alfie Foster – his likely replacement – is on holiday.

Bull has however, brought in striker Jerson Dos Santos and hopes to negotiate another loan deal with Reading for keeper Lewis Ward, who played 16 games for the Blues earlier in the season.

Ward returned to the Madejski after sustaining a quad injury and he then had appendicitis but Bull says the 19-year-old is now fit again and ready to offer Pajetat competition.

He said: “He’s had a few months to get over his injuries and if we get the same Lewis we had for the first 10 weeks of the season, he’ll be a real asset.”