Teammates of a footballer who suffered a horrific knee injury following a crunching tackle have launched a crowdfunding page to help pay for surgery.

Gillingham Ladies FC vice captain Vanisha Patel was left with a torn anterior cruciate ligament during the last 10 minutes of a game against Portsmouth.

Team mate and midfielder Jade Keogh set up the JustGiving page for her friend and said: “Trailing by just one goal with 10 minutes left to go, Vanisha lunged for the ball, clashing with a player from the opposition in a tackle that made all of our hearts drop.”

“Sometimes, these things just look a lot worse than they actually are, but after an MRI scan, we found out the worst news possible that V had completely ruptured her ACL.

“This news left our whole team speechless and gutted to be without such an influential and courageous player for the rest of the season.”

Friends and family have been raising money to help fund the defender’s recovery. She needs an ACL reconstruction operation which comes with inevitable recuperation time before she can return to normal life and playing football.

Vanisha recently turned 25 and was awarded Sony British Asian Sports Personality in 2014, and received an Asian Football Awards Nomination.

She also played for the team when they were crowned South East Division One Champions last season.

"This news left our whole team speechless and gutted to be without such an influential and courageous player for the rest of the season" - Jade Keogh

Jade said: “'V' is the heart of our team, she is a leader and someone that we all look up to. She's also the one who's there for the whole team when we are struggling.”

The Gillingham Ladies’ campaign to “Get V a new Knee” has already received a number of donations.

Donors left messages of support on the JustGiving page. One wrote: “Stay positive hun... you'll come back fitter and stronger no doubt! Wishing you all the best V!”

Another said: “Best wishes V, sad to hear of such a serious injury in the game we love - I hope you get back to playing at the same level soon.”

Gillingham Ladies will next play at home on October 11 against Basildon LFC.

• To support the appeal visit https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/vanishapatel