Ledley King, the Tottenham Hotspur captain, has insisted that injury will not force him to retire from football.

The 27-year-old centre back has played only ten matches this season, and will not feature in the remaining games of the campaign as he looks to recuperate fully from a chronic knee problem.

The England international has undergone operations over the past two summers, sparking rumours that he will never fully recover from the problem. However, King denies that he will be forced into retirement.

"I'm not retiring, let's put it that way," he said. "I've read a lot of stories about my situation over the last few weeks but I believe that when I do finally get it right there won't be any more problems.

"I'm not sure exactly when I'll be back playing twice a week again. Now my main aim is to prepare myself for next season and do everything possible to ensure that I don't have any problems next year."

Despite being sidelined, King still goes to as many Tottenham games as he can and is expected to be at White Hart Lane for the visit of Middlesbrough on Saturday.