David James, 49, started his football career with Watford and then went on to feature in the Premier League for Liverpool, Aston Villa, West Ham United, Manchester City and Portsmouth. There was a time when his career came crashing down due to a serious knee injury in England’s friendly against Holland. David ruptured posterior cruciate ligaments when he rushed off his line and collided with another player. His manager at the time, Glen Roeder, described the injury as ‘a massive blow’.
David learned the extent of the injury after receiving the results of a scan and realised how serious the damage was.
Roeder said at the time: “It’s obviously a huge blow for me but more importantly my thoughts are for David James and his family.” The damage became a recurring injury for David and battled for years with his knee.
Eventually he had to undergo a special training regime which prevented him playing in games for seven days.
David also underwent surgery on his shoulder after which he wrote an article complaining at the lack of appropriate medical care for players. “What I can’t understand is why clubs who pay out millions in wages don’t invest in the best physiotherapy available.
“Why risk bringing a player back too quickly, only for the problems to return?”
Thrive Global said: “Participating in sport provides instant gratification, flooding the body with endorphins that make us feel as though we could do anything.
“When you’re young, muscle strain and sprains can keep you out of the game for a bit, but more often than not athletes are soon back at it, swinging, kicking, running, and jumping for the love of sport.
“This changes when you get older. The culmination of years of sport can lead to long term aches and pains.
“Ageing makes athletes more prone to injury, and demands you reconsider participating in the activities you previously took for granted.
“The long-term impacts of sport don’t mean you should stop all together.
“It just means you have to be mindful of the injuries that can be caused, and how you can work to avoid that damage.”
No stranger to injuries, David had previously made The Telegraph’s strangest football injuries and said: “The England goalkeeper once pulled a muscle in his back when reaching for the television remote control and the keen angler also tweaked his shoulder when trying to last a master carp.”
David is hoping these his injuries will not get in the way when competing in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing. David is now preparing to take to the dance floor for the third time this weekend and the pressure is on since his disastrous performance the previous week saw him at the bottom two.
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