BURY defender Nathan Cameron has thanked Premier League champions Chelsea after their physios helped him recover from a serious knee injury.

The centre-half spent the majority of the season in the treatment room as he struggled to overcome the cartilage problem.

After breaking down with the initial problem in August, the former Shakers captain had surgery a month later but had failed to get back on to the training pitch by the time manager Lee Clark took over in February.

Clark called in some favours and, after a trip to the captial for treatment, Cameron eventually managed to return to play a one-minute cameo in Bury's final home match of the season against Northampton.

“I want to thank Chelsea for allowing me to go down there,” Cameron said. “Their physios were brilliant with me. We did a lot of work, so thanks to them.

“I have got to thank the manager too. He has got a lot of contacts down there.

"It was a great experience going down there, seeing their physios and their training ground and working with them. It really put me on the right path.

“At the start of the season I was ready to go and I thought I did well the first four games.

“The team started well, but unfortunately the last eight months have been a nightmare for me.”

The 25-year-old admitted he struggled mentally to deal with the loneliness of being away from the group, even housebound for part of his recovery from surgery.

But now Cameron is feeling fully fit and is preparing to start his pre-season early.

“I’m going to enjoy the summer now,” Cameron added. “It has been a long, long season so I’m going to take my holidays and enjoy myself.

“As soon as June starts, that’s when I’ll start my work.

"I’ll probably have to come in earlier than the boys because my pre-season will be a bit different from theirs.

“When you’re out for that long you go into a bit of a dark place and it’s difficult to get out of.

“It has been difficult because at time it has been lonely.

"I have been sitting by myself at home and you think to yourself ‘when am I ever going to be back?’.

“When you’re out for that long you do think ‘where’s the light at the end of the tunnel?’.

“Fortunately, I was dealt with quite well. I was able to see a lot of different physios and they put me on the right track.”

The centre-back remains in good spirits and even dropped a cheeky hint to his boss about replicating his striker’s role played against the Cobblers on his return to action.

“Wherever he wants to play me that’s fine with me,” Cameron said. “I love defending but then again, doesn’t every defender love to go up front and try to score goals.

“That’s where James Vaughan scores 20 goals in a season. Those are the guys that get the plaudits.”