The 28-year-old scrum-half tore his knee ligaments during the opening game of the 2017-18 campaign and failed to return to action.
Now back fighting fit, the 11-times capped Wales international is confident he can get his career back on track.
“Maybe it was a gamble for Bernard to keep me on, but I want to repay that faith and I’ve got one year to prove to myself I can still do it,” said Knoyle.
“My wife has been a massive support to me, it’s her more than anyone who has got me through my latest injury.
“As players we are mostly all in the same boat with families and the reason I’m still going is for them, 100 per cent.
“Training at the Dragons has been outstanding. The standards have clearly gone up a lot both on and off the field and I think we have a very good mix between young and old this season.
“I’m just appreciating every minute of being involved and being able to rub shoulders with the rest of the squad.
“What we need to do now as players is to keep pushing ourselves in training, keep driving standards, and keep putting pressure on each other.
“We owe it to each other and more importantly to Bernard to do that.”
Knoyle will face stiff competition for the number nine shirt at Rodney Parade from new signing and former Scarlets man Rhodri Williams.
There is also teenage tyro Dan Babos and another fresh face in Rhodri Davies for Jackman to pick.
But Knoyle, who has represented all four Welsh regions and represented his country at the 2011 World Cup, is relishing the increased competition within the Dragons squad.
He hopes to make his mark in Jackman’s side’s pre-season fixtures, starting away at Ealing next month.
“Competition is something we’ve missed at the Dragons, but it’s back for this season and we’ve got a good squad going forward now,” he said.
“There is serious competition for places at the Dragons this season and all the other scrum-halves are very different to me. That could be a good or bad thing, time will tell.
“It’s been a breath of fresh air for me to be back involved and I’ve had so much time to think about things I’ve written down my targets for the season ahead.
“They are little things for the short term, but the main one is just to be back playing and to try and stay fit and healthy. If I can do that, then I can hopefully push on and the biggest one for me is enjoying my rugby.”
