Nyjah Huston isn't going to let his recent injury scare him into early retirement -- the skateboarding superstar tells TMZ Sports he plans to go all-out until he literally can't anymore ... just like Tony Hawk!!
The 28-year-old busted his ACL, partially tore his meniscus and fractured his tibia off a bad skating accident last year ... which kept him on the sidelines for months.
We spoke with Nyjah -- who's inching back to full recovery -- about how he handled the first major injury of his career ... and he said he couldn't wait to get back on his board again.
"Skateboarding is so much more to me than a job, or than making money, or making a living for myself. It really is my life and is something I plan on doing until I physically can't anymore."
"I wanna do everything I can to make sure I can make that happen and make sure I'm gonna be like, 50, 60 years old still grinding rails out there."
Of course, Hawk is known for crushing it even at 54 years old ... and Nyjah says that's exactly how he's trying to be in a couple decades.
As for his return to competition, Nyjah's actually participating in the Street League Skateboarding event in Chicago this weekend ... and even though he's not 100% yet, he makes it clear he's going to give the fans something to cheer about.