Sports-loving hero soldier Luke Cole today spoke of the price he paid for the extreme bravery he showed in the line of duty.

The lasting legacy of the terrible injuries he suffered during the Taliban ambush in Afghanistan 18 months ago has dashed his dream of a full-time career in the Army.

The Military Cross holder, from Bradmore, Wolverhampton, who now can not jog or run, admitted: “The worst thing is sitting on the sidelines watching my mates play football.

“That is what really guts me – seeing them miss a tackle when I know I could have made it.

“But you have got to face up to the realities of life. You can not just sit back and let everything fall in on you. You have just got to get on with it.

“I always wanted to do something with the Army since I was a kid. Forget the Military Cross I won and all that stuff, but I am 23 and have done tours to Iraq and Afghanistan. That is a big deal and something I can tell my grandkids about.

“What has happened is just another hurdle to get over. I have got to get on with that or else I will achieve nothing in the rest of my life.”

Pte Cole said he would love to play football and other sports again. “We used to play seven-a-side at Aldersley Stadium,” he recalled. “I liked bike riding and stuff like that but not now. I can’t ride a bike now but I am still trying. You can not just quit.

“It is difficult because one minute you are running around as fit as anything and then one night your life changes completely forever.

“You know you are never going to get back to your previous fitness but you can not dwell on it.

“Now I may be getting a medical discharge out of the forces altogether. I am not physically fit to do the stuff that I used to do. I have done Iraq and Afghanistan and have been through the thick of it.”

“You lose your friends. “You look at them and you are gutted inside because you know mentally you could do it, but physically you could not go out there. I would have loved to go back out there with them again.”