CHESTER midfielder George Green has promised to repay the faith joint-bosses Anthony Johnson and Bernard Morley have shown in him as he continues his battle back to full fitness.

Green has yet to make an appearance for Chester since his move from Nuneaton Borough earlier this summer, but despite the 22-year-old openly admitting to suffering in the past with depression and drug and alcohol addiction, he has assured Blues fans that his latest spell on the sidelines is not connected to his previous issues.

"I think the fans are getting quite annoyed because they don't know if I'm going backwards or why I'm not playing," said Green, who has revealed he is suffering from a slipped disc in his back which requires surgery. "The truth is, it's down to an acute injury and it's one that I need to sort out and unfortunately going for an operation is the fastest way to do it.

"I want to be back fast so I'm willing to go through this surgery which shows how willing I am to get back. There's nothing going on in my life apart from me wanting to be a footballer so no one has anything to worry about."

In an interview with the Daily Mail in April, Green, who came through the ranks at Everton before joining Tranmere Rovers on-loan, revealed he had tried to take his own life while at Salford City where he had a brief spell under Morley and Johnson during the 2016/17 season, making eight appearances.

Johnson described Green as "a hell of player" after he penned a one year deal at the Swansway Chester Stadium and the Dewsbury-born midfielder has pledged to reward his new club with the kind of performances that saw him represent England from Under 16 to Under 18 level as well as spells with Burnley, Kilmarnock and Norwegian outfit Viking.

"My first reaction when Salford came in for me was 'they're in Conference North and I don't want to play there'," remembered Green. "I'd just been playing in the Scottish Premier League for Kilmarnock so it felt like a massive drop, but I'd seen the TV documentary and seen the managers and liked how they were, so when they came in for me and Burnley told me, I thought it would be a challenge that I would like.

"I thought I could prove to people that I was better than that level. They were part time and I'd not done that before and the facilities were not as good, but regardless of that you still play on a grass pitch which is how I look at it. Good pitch or bad pitch you're blessed if you're playing football."

Despite a good start to life at Salford, things quickly began to unwind as Green began suffering with the kind of demons which had derailed his career and forced him into rehab aged just 18.

"I thought things were going better and as soon as I thought that my little bad behaviours started to creep in," he said. "It was complacency and I went on a little bender, missed a game and Salford sent me back to Burnley."

Despite the setback, Green maintained a relationship with Johnson and Morley, who had first tried to sign him when he was turning out for Ossett Albion following his departure from Goodison Park.

"My relationship with them when I first went to Salford on loan from Burnley was very, very good," said Green. "Obviously I was treated differently because I wasn't 'their player', but then things went downhill and I didn't really expect a second chance.

"We were speaking throughout the summer and when I heard they'd put a bid in for me it was something I was never ever going to turn down.

"It was just something I couldn't do with those two - it has become like a personal vendetta. It's not that I want to prove them wrong because they've never spoken that badly about me, but I do want to show them that I'm not that lad I was two years ago and I have changed."

A frustrated spectator during Chester's first three games which included the 8-1 drubbing at Blyth Spartans, Green does not expect to be available until the end of September, whereupon he is determined to show supporters what they've missed.

"The managers have never sat me down and spoken about what happened before and it's never been mentioned," he said. "They understand what I've gone through in my personal life and they've said they know it's been difficult for me.

"They've now given me this platform and I think they know and I know that once I'm fit only good things will come of it.

"I didn't travel to Blyth because of my back but that was a one off let me tell you. That won't happen again under these managers and with these players. It is something which needs to be put right because we need to move on.

"I can assure everyone that is was addressed by the managers and I honestly think we are going to achieve good things this year. I sincerely believe it. A million percent."