Former Liverpool and England starlet Andre Wisdom has made his return to the sport after the stabbing which he said ruined his career.
Wisdom, who is now 30 years old, broke through at Anfield while Brendan Rodgers was manager and went on to make almost 50 Premier League appearances at Liverpool, as well as during loan stints at West Brom and Norwich.
The defender eventually left to join Derby County on a permanent deal, where he made over 100 appearances in the Championship.
The defender admitted that he wasn't the same following a stabbing he suffered in an unprovoked attack in 2020, leaving Derby the following year and being without a club ever since.
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Wisdom is now ready to restart his career at National League North side Warrington Town, stating: "It was frustrating as when I've come out of hospital after like three days, I had a couple of operations, it was like my body just wasn't the same," Wisdom told The Beautiful Game Podcast.
"I tried to get back into football and it wasn't the same, I wasn't getting the same output in terms of power or speed." He also explained that he got headaches after being stabbed in the head, which the incident also negatively impacting his breathing as he was left with fluid on his lungs.
Despite playing regularly for Derby in the 2020/21 season, he admitted that he rushed back into playing after being released from hospital.
Due to a groin problem towards the end of his time at the Rams, he was left out of contract and injured, and has now chosen to make his return after trials with clubs locally and overseas.
"I think I rushed coming back to football," he said.
"So once I could walk, which was like three weeks I went straight back to football. As men we get ahead of ourselves. I played two games and I wasn't right and my ego wouldn't let me accept it."
Warrington Town announced the arrival of Wisdom on Friday ahead of their next game.
The club won promotion from the Northern Premier League last season, and they confirmed he had been training with them before confirming his signing.
He will hope to make an instant impact, as Warrington have only managed 10 points from their opening nine league games.
Topics: Liverpool, Derby County
Joshua Nair