Hendon central defender Elliott Brathwaite is due to undergo a cruciate ligament reconstruction operation in the next few weeks and thus is out for the rest of this season. He injured his knee at the end of February against Margate and had a scan to see how much damage had been done.

The result was not good, but Brathwaite put a positive spin on the bad news. "In some ways, it was what I wanted to hear," he said.

"This way I know what is necessary and what the rehabilitation is. The good news is that it is not the knee I have had two reconstructions on already and having the surgery now is better than spending a few months trying to rehabilitate and strengthen the knee and then breaking down again."

"The surgeon tells me it is 6-8 months of rehabilitation before I can play again, but I am setting myself a target of being back by Christmas."

Braithwaite is one of football's unluckiest players. He signed for Hendon at the start of the 2011-12 season and was outstanding in the opening day victory over Concord Rangers. However, he suffered a bad reaction after the match and missed the rest of the season, undergoing his second reconstructive surgery on the joint.

His first game back was at the end of September, playing in the FA Cup defeat of Lewes. The following morning, however, he was involved in a terrible, freak car accident when his vehicle aquaplaned off the waterlogged M25 and went down into a ditch. Crash investigators, studying the written-off car, were amazed that anyone had survived the incident; all Brathwaite had suffered was a slight neck injury and mild concussion and he was back in first-team action less than a month later.

Hendon manager Gary McCann said of his centre-half, "I have spoken with Elliott about this situation and he has been very positive. He has been so unlucky with his injuries."