THE dark times are behind Bury defender Nathan Cameron as he plots his return to fitness.

The defender tore the meniscus in his right knee for the second time in his career in September and has not featured for the Shakers since.

Cameron missed the end of last season after requiring surgery in March when he tore the ligament the first time.

Now the 25-year-old has fully recovered from going under the knife again to remove floating bone in his knee.

However, the centre-back admits he has struggled to cope mentally with the injury and is relieved he can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

“It has been a difficult time,” Cameron told the Bury Times. “It is very challenging mentally. Before Christmas I was in a dark place and it was very tough but I can focus on building up my muscle again now.

“It was difficult to maintain the muscle in my knee because I wasn't allowed to move around but I feel a lot better now, I'm doing some loading and hopefully I'll be back before the end of the season.

“I had to stay off my feet and sit on the settee all day with my leg up. I tried to read books, watch box sets, I tried to keep my brain active but I was always thinking about football.

"I'm back in and around the club now full-time and I can focus on the rehab.”

Cameron started the season in top form and helped Bury climb to second in the League One table.

Since his injury the Shakers have come crashing down into a relegation scrap, but the recovering defender believes his teammates have the quality to turn it around.

He said: “Unfortunately the team are in this position but with the quality we have we shouldn't be down there.

“At the start of the season we would never have thought we would be down here near the relegation zone.

“We have got a good squad on paper but they have got to do the business on the pitch.

“Performances have definitely picked up of late and we probably should have picked up more points than we have but hopefully Saturday will be a turning point."