CANVEY Island goalkeeper Conor Gough says he is already back in pre-season training as he looks to reclaim the number one jersey.

The Gulls stopper played the first two games of last season before breaking down with an injury. It turned out he had fractured his leg and partly torn his Anterior Cruciate Ligament and meniscus.

It continued a rotten run of luck for Gough, 24, who had to have part of his finger removed following a work place accident in September 2016.

And he says he is determined to get back playing in pre-season.

“The weekends are dragging already without football and I can’t wait to be back,” said Gough.

“It has been a really difficult spell for me. I got injured last August but delayed getting a scan for a few weeks as I wanted to train. But it wasn’t right and it turned out I had a leg fracture and partly torn my ACL and meniscus. It was devastating for me.

“Whenever I trained it broke down and since then I have been recovering. I have been running for the last three months and been building up my whole right side.”

Gough has been working with goalkeeping coach Stacey Shave and says the pain and swelling from the injury has gone.

And he is excited about Canvey’s prospects after they fell short in the Isthmian North play-off final last campaign, as he looks to get ahead of new addition Harry Palmer in the goalkeeping pecking order.

“It is a good squad,” he said. “It is a really strong group and we have one of the best squads in the league, if not the best.

“Getting Whitey [James White] in permanently this season was crucial, as was keeping hold of the likes of Syksesy [George Sykes] and Frankie Merrifield.

“For me, I was so frustrated I couldn’t get minutes last season but I know what I am capable of and so does the manager [Danny Heale].

“Competition is good and it is one of those things I will have to embrace.”