IN HIS 13 years as a professional footballer in Britain, Dubliner Stephen Elliott reached heights that only a few attain.

He played in England's Premier League for two clubs, won medals, got to play for his country and, on one occasion, he saved the bacon of the then Ireland manager by scoring the winner in a World Cup qualifier at a time when the pressure was on.

These days, Elliott is experiencing a different, more lonely, side to the game as the 29-year-old hasn't kicked a ball in anger in 10 months, is without a club, without any income and is single-handedly working to recover from surgery on a knee problem that surfaced when he was at Coventry City last season.

It is a lonely process, as he has a wife and four children to support though he hasn't had any income from football in six months.

But the man who once scored 15 goals in a season to help Sunderland win promotion back to the Premier League and played nine times for his country is confident that he can get back into the game and play football again.

"I am only 29, I have confidence in my ability and I am willing to work hard to get back playing again," Elliott told the Herald.

"I have played at a high level before – I played in the Premier League, the SPL, I played for Ireland against teams like Italy, Holland and Germany – while I don't know what level I can get back to, I do feel that I can get back playing and I certainly don't think that my career is over, no way.

Operation

"I had an operation on my knee at the start of last month, I still have a few months to go before I can get back to training but my plan is to be back in full training by February, and if my fitness is good enough and I am playing well then maybe I can get a club.

"I certainly feel I can get back playing again. I have started to think about the future, I have taken my coaching badges and this whole experience has made me think more, but I have no plans to quit football. Once I can get my knee right I know I can play again," added Elliott.

Elliott's career had a very bright and promising start. A product of Belvedere, he was good enough to make the first team at Manchester City, making his debut under Kevin Keegan in 2004 (he came on as a sub for Robbie Fowler), and a move to Mick McCarthy's Sunderland in the summer of 2004 saw his career really take off.

In his first season at the Stadium of Light he averaged a goal every three games in the Championship and helped Sunderland win promotion.

There was also international success. There were early signs of that in 2002 when Elliott scored as Ireland's U19s beat Holland 2-1 to win a place in the European Championship finals, that Dutch side containing names like Sneijder, de Jong and Huntelaar.

He set a new goal-scoring record for the Irish U21s (six goals) that was only recently broken (by Robbie Brady) and in November 2004 Brian Kerr handed Elliott his senior debut, the striker starting up front in a 1-0 win over Croatia. Kerr owed the striker a debt when Elliott's goal in Nicosia gave Ireland a much-needed 1-0 win over Cyprus in a World Cup qualifier, at a time when there was intense pressure on the then national manager.

Further moves to Wolves (2007) and Preston (2008) were not that successful, though his two-year spell in the SPL with Hearts (2010-12) did yield a Scottish Cup medal. Elliott was then plying his trade in League One with Coventry when disaster struck, in the form of a training-ground injury in February of this year.

"I tore my medial ligament, I was initially told I'd be back in four to six weeks, but that never happened, no matter what I did the injury never got better," says Elliott.

"I had injections and rehab and I was due to be back for pre-season training with Coventry in the summer but nothing worked. My knee still didn't feel right, I knew that from the pain I was having."

A visit to the renowned knee specialist Andy Williams was the spark for Elliott's comeback. He performed surgery last month and now Elliott can see light at the end of the tunnel.

But it is not easy. "I have not had a contract since I left Coventry last season, so I am living off my own back, I have had to pay for all the treatment and operations myself, all the bills for surgery and rehab I have had to look after. You are not insured when you are out of contract," he says.

"There is no real support there. I have spoken to the PFA about getting some help from them and hopefully I can go back to Preston to do my rehab there, but you are more or less on your own.

"It's different to your playing days when everything was done for you, and it has made me think about life a lot more. For the best part of 13 years as a pro, I had everything done for me, my life and my family's life revolved around football. It has been an eye-opener for me.

"But it's either do what I am doing now or stop playing, and I have no intention of quitting at the moment. It has been a financial burden, especially with four kids, but I am only 29, I feel I have a few years left in me once I get myself right.

Training

"The aim is to get back in full training by February. By then it will have been 12 months since I played any football so it is a long time to be out. I can't look too far ahead, I am just looking forward to playing football without any pain in my knee. What options are there for me next I honestly don't know, but I won't give up."

Right now times are hard but there have been good times along the way.

That promotion-winning season with Sunderland (2004/05) was thrilling, as Elliott was just one goal away from being the club's top scorer. In his last game for Hearts he won a Scottish Cup medal. And there was his Ireland career: nine caps, four in competitive games, one goal.

"I have a lot to be proud of," he says. "And while I have been unlucky with injury in my career, worse things have happened to other people so I just try and use these experiences to make myself stronger. I think if I do get back playing again I will enjoy it more and not take it for granted."