Ex-Chelsea wonderkid thought he 'must have killed someone in a past life' after injury hell
A former Chelsea wonderkid who was once tipped for the top admits he felt as though he 'must have killed someone in a past life' after suffering five hamstring injuries in just one year.
And having played alongside the likes of Reece James, Declan Rice, Mason Mount and Callum Hudson-Odoi in Chelsea's academy from the age of 11, the initial signs looked promising for a successful professional career before disaster struck.
But it all started to go wrong for Charlie Wakefield, a member of Chelsea's UEFA Youth League and FA Youth Cup winning sides who became plagued by injuries in quick succession and required special treatment to fix his issues.
He was flown out to Barcelona to have some of the bone marrow from both of his hips taken out before it was sent to grow in a lab in Italy.
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Wakefield then returned to the Catalan city for successful stem cell treatment, with 20 million stem cells injected into his hamstring.
When things were looking up, he was allowed to go to New York for a break with his girlfriend at the time before starting the next stage of his rebab.
But just a day on from returning from the trip, he was rushed to hospital with a different, shock issue.
“It all came on top of each other,” he told SPORTbible in an exclusive interview.
“I flew there and I was only there for like five days and it was quite a long flight there and back.
"It set something off with my lungs. I landed and the next year day I was on the way to start my rehab at Cobham, and I started getting these chest pains while driving.
"As I was getting closer to Cobham it was getting worse and worse. I managed to get there and got rushed to hospital with a pneumothorax, which is basically a collapsed lung.
"They have to inject into your chest to suck out all the blocked air. Since I had mine, I've seen it in movies a few times.”
With such horrid luck, it was at this point that Wakefield’s mind was filled with dramatic thoughts.
In a previous interview with Goal, he admitted that he remembered feeling like he had “killed someone in a previous life” because of the constant setbacks in a period where he was “injury prone for two years”.
He had trained with the first team and rubbed shoulders with Cesc Fabregas, Eden Hazard and John Terry on occasion but spent plenty of time on the sidelines doing rehab – so much so that the MRI room started to become his second home.
Wakefield found himself banned from doing any exercise for two months. This time, however, it was a slight blessing in disguise as it allowed him to rest from the stem cell procedure.
Yet while he worked tirelessly to get back fit and force his way into the first-team picture, the winger was told he would not be getting a new contract. His eight-year spell with the club came to an end in 2018.
“I loved my time there but I just wanted a fresh start,” Wakefield stated.
“Where I didn't play enough games, it was hard for them to give me another contract or kick in an extension. I was always completely fine with that because of the injury history I had.
"I look back now and I've always been a big believer in everything happening for a reason."
He went on trials with the likes of Wigan and Swansea before signing for Coventry City in a brief spell in League One. Wakefield then dropped into Non League with the likes of Wealdstone, Bromley, Yeovil, Woking and Braintree Town.
It was at Yeovil where he “really loved football again” and experienced his “favourite season in football” while making 40 appearances.
He again found himself without a club at the end of last season when he was released by Woking.
But Wakefield was in no rush to return to 11-a-side football and instead turned his attentions to the all-new Baller League – a six-a-side competition in the UK featuring huge names in football and the content creator space.
After thoroughly enjoying a showcase event he was invited to, he was immediately fast-tracked to the draft and snapped up by the N5 – the team led by Arsenal’s Invincibles Jens Lehmann, Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg.
He, along with former Premier League players Jordon Ibe, Ciaran Clark, Marvin Sordell and Josh Harrop, made his debut in the groundbreaking event on Monday at the Copper Box Arena, live on Sky Sports.
The 26-year-old explained: "Nothing came up that I wanted to pursue and a few months down the line I got a message about the Baller League and that perked my ears up.
“The timing for me was perfect, not having a club but still wanting to play football and I think this project they've got going on is the best way to play football.
“I've always loved playing six-a-side and to be able to do it on a big stage with Sky Sports, YouTube, Twitch and all the names that are backing it, it's a great opportunity.
"I'm going to take it in and have fun but at the same time try and win! That competitive side from playing 11-a-side that will definitely come out."
Although he’s played football most of his life, Wakefield found himself in a position where he did not miss the game and the “politics” that comes with it.
He has found a new hobby in running and will run his first marathon. That, along with 30 minutes of intense and chaotic six-a-side football on a big stage every Monday, is keeping him ticking over.
He added: “That's why I didn't go back into it this year, there were opportunities, but it was just like, 'Do I really want to do it?'.
"If you haven't got the hunger to do something, just take a step back and look from the outside in. If I was to have done that, I wouldn't be playing in what I'm playing in now.”
In an ideal world, Wakefield would have been drafted by Chelsea legend Terry and his former youth coach Jody Morris but instead he finds himself playing for a trio of Arsenal icons.
He loved reuniting and catching up with the pair at the draft and now is excited for when he plays against their 26ers side on one of the 10 matchdays.
"He was a massive influence,” Wakefield said on Terry’s impact on the youngsters.
“He was great with the young kids; he would go out of his way to make sure we were all good. To be the person he was, the captain of the club for so many years, he didn't have to do that, and he did.
"Now I'm looking forward to playing against them to be honest."
Josh Lawless