PAUL Lake has not only had to reconstruct his knee since rupturing his cruciate ligaments 11 years ago - he has had to rebuild his entire life.

Now the former Manchester City star is facing up to the prospect of his biggest surgery yet, a complete replacement of the damaged joint - his 20th operation since the fateful tackle at Aston Villa which cut short a promising career.

And the PFA has been right behind him every step of the way, which is why Lake has made a point of speaking out in favour of his union's battle for five per cent of football's television bounty.

Lake makes the point that when a career is over, it is the PFA - not the clubs they served - which assumes responsibility for the footballer:

''I was fortunate in that I had done a sports therapy diploma which meant I could manage injured players at Maine Road, so at least I had money coming in.

''Your whole life can change within a matter of months, and you need someone to help. The PFA initially helped me in an advisory capacity - I had an interest in injuries because I had to live with one but I didn't know how to fund further education if I could work as well, and so on.''

Lake is one of 36 ex-footballers currently on a four-year physiotherapy course at Salford University: ''There are a lot of ex-pros, some guys who didn't quite make it and even some current players like Macclesfield goalkeeper Lee Martin.''

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