Friday 24 February 2012 14:43, UK
Gillingham defender Simon King has admits he considered "quitting football" after suffering a lengthy spell on the sidelines.
King, who made his first starts of the season against Port Vale and Rotherham over the past week, has struggled to hold down a regular place at the Priestfield Stadium since missing the whole 2009/10 season with an ankle injury. He was restricted to watching football from home for the majority of the last two years as he went through some agonising injury rehabilitation. "Of course it (retirement) crossed my mind many times but then you have nights like Tuesday and it feels worthwhile after all the hard work in the gym," King told the Gills official website. "It's human nature to feel like you've had enough but I have had a very supportive family the whole time and some of the lads have been great since I have been going through this injury and kept me going." King's contract expires at the end of the season, but he hopes manager Andy Hessenthaler will send a new deal his way if he can maintain the form show over the last two matches. The 28-year-old added: "It's a good time to come into the team and hopefully I can prove my worth and show I'm still a good League Two defender and hopefully something might happen in the summer but there's a long way to go."