Boxing Day 2013 could have been a defining moment in my career for all the wrong reasons. Playing for Luton Town against Barnet at the Hive on 36 minutes I suffered a horrific injury which at the time was labelled by doctors as career threatening. I broke both bones in my right leg after a clumsy tackle from behind courtesy of a Barnet striker. I was in agony and required a serious operation to repair my leg along with my career. I’d been having a fantastic season at the time as a team we were riding high at the top of the league and I was an ever present in the engine room of Luton’s midfield.
Strangely led alone in that London hospital dosed up on morphine and other strong painkilling drugs I already knew I was going to come back stronger from this. The drive inside me to get back from this injury had already started even before I’d had the operation. The op was successful and to this day I play on with a metal rod and pins inserted in my leg.
I received amazing, unforgettable support from family and friends and not least the phenomenal Luton Town fan base. Stacks of get well cards arrived as well as presents, I was sincerely touched. I could feel that people were eager to keep my spirits up however they didn’t need keeping up as I was ready for whatever this challenge would throw at me. I had a motto I religiously stuck by right through my rehabilitation which was “if it doesn’t make my leg better don’t do it”. I set up a mini gym in my house and my diet was flawless. I immediately upped my calcium intake to aid my bone healing and made sure I got lots of rest.
I had a personal target to get back before the end of the season in 4 months. I knew it could be done as I’d researched previous athletes who had experienced the same injury and how long it took them to return. Physios and doctors told me to be realistic and aim for next season stressing that I should take my time and be ready for the summer. This advice went straight over my head, I had a target and nothing was going to stop me from getting back for those last games.
The hard bit for me was seeing the team continue to win while I was totally out of the picture 200 miles away in my home in Preston. During this time I got in touch with previous players that had gone through the injury and come back. Every detail or tip they gave me I used to my advantage and worked hard every day to get my muscles strong with my return always sitting in the back of my mind.
Doctors gave me ankle mobility movements to do once or twice a day as the ankle can tighten up with this sort of injury, however, I didn’t take that advice instead of doing those movements once or twice a day I would do them nine or ten times a day. I had to learn to walk again, I was moving with a limp so to combat this I headed to the swimming pool and walked up and down the pool as in the pool there’s no impact on the leg.
I met a specialist in the field a few months in and he scanned my leg and having seen the results he declared he “had never seen healing like it”. He joked had I been living off milk, I laughed but he wasn’t far wrong.
During my rehabilitation I had trouble getting tendons and muscles working properly in the lower part of my leg. I had to find a solution to getting these “dead” muscles going again. After more research and networking with medical individuals in the game, I came across barefoot running shoes by Vibram. I got told to wear these only when exercising as they are not the most supportive of your feet. They are not trendy or cool and if you Google them you will see what I mean. I wore them day and night with the key being you don’t get the usual support of a normal running shoe so your foot doesn’t become rigid hence your feet start moving more naturally. This meant my muscles in the lower leg started working harder building back up again. I got nicknamed by friends as the frogman as for months no matter where I was I was wearing these shoes. I did not care in the slightest as I was willing to do anything to hit my target.
26th April 2014 and I was back in the Luton Town matchday squad. My target had been hit and I was ready to get back on that pitch again. I had been training for a couple of weeks and was determined to prove I was ready to play again. I came on for the last 10 minutes in the season finale 4 months to the day of the injury. It was a special moment, the standing ovation I received from the Luton Town fans that day was something I will never forget and lives long in the memory. We won the league and I lifted that trophy.
Being the way I am my thoughts immediately turned to the next season. Most players spend summer relaxing in the sun; I spent that summer undertaking a gruelling training regime still in my barefoot shoes. I was determined to come back to pre season training as fit and strong as I’d ever been.
The following season, exactly a year to the day of the injury I scored one of the goals of my career at Wycombe in a top of the table clash (see below!). I also won four player of the year awards that year at Luton and a result was offered a new three year contract from the club. My drive and determination had got me to where I was and I continue to this day to play 40+ games a season with the same resolute attitude. The big thing I did learn from all this was to set targets as they give you something to aim for and if you want it hard enough you will make those targets a reality.
NotJustTalent 