Lloyd Harrington has thanked Ebbsfleet United for keeping his dreams alive as he comes to terms with his latest injury.

The defender, who had to wait more than a year to make his Fleet debut, lasted just 10 minutes before being stretchered off with what a scan revealed are ruptured ankle ligaments.

Harrington tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee while playing for Dover against Ebbsfleet in August 2013 and was ruled out for the rest of that season.

The following summer he signed for Fleet, who loaned him out to Grays and Lewes to help him regain his match fitness.

But the 21-year-old didn’t feature for his parent club at all in 2014-15 and now he’s been hit by another major setback.

Harrington said: "I love football but I want to be playing. I’ve had good times but I’ve had too many bad times.

"It’s hard. You want to blame something but you can’t blame anything. At the end of the day, something’s happened – twice – on one leg and now something’s happened freakishly on the right leg.

"I’ve tried to stay as mentally strong as I can because if I just give up on it now, I’m not doing what I want to do. I want to play football and I’m only young. I’ve got time but at the minute, it’s just who I’ve got around me. I’ve got all my family behind
me and they’re doing absolute wonders.

"I’ve got the team here and I’m coming in, speaking to everyone and it’s all reassuring so I’m not worried. I know that I can get through it.

"I know I’ve only been at two or three clubs but this is, for me, the best club I could be at, at this moment in time.

"As soon as I did both of my injuries, I had texts from players, staff, management, everything.

"You don’t want to give the bad impression of having so many injuries but they trust me. They believe in me and know that I’m a good player. I’ve played with Macca (Ebbsfleet manager Daryl McMahon) for a long time now. He knows what I can do.

"I’m pretty sure (vice-chairman) Peter Varney also knows what I can do. He’s been supportive of me as well, which I’m so thankful for because at other clubs I’ve just been treated – you just get kicked out of the door and that’s it, you’ve got to deal with it yourself.

"For a player like me and what I’ve gone through, anywhere else, I’m struggling. I’d probably go to a normal job now because you can’t keep getting pushed away.

"Ebbsfleet, at the minute, are keeping my dreams alive, which I’m so thankful for."

Read the full interview in the Gravesend Messenger.