31 August 2005
Exclusive Interview: Stephen Warnock
England new-boy Stephen Warnock tells TheFA.com how he recovered from injuries early in his career.

England's newest recruit Stephen Warnock has revealed how he once felt like quitting the game after breaking his leg three times by the age of 20.

The Liverpool left-back is living proof of the mental strength required to wear the Three Lions after winning his first England call-up despite spending three-and-a-half years in rehab.

Warnock was an international regular as a 15 and 16-year-old but went through unimaginable frustration after an injury-plagued start to his career that would have tested the patience of a saint.

He said: "I have broken my leg three times now and been out for three-and-a-half years trying to get fit.

"I broke my tib and fib twice in the same place and broke it the second time after three games of coming back. Then, after I had been back about four months, I broke my fibia again. I had a steel rod in by that time and they said I would probably have broken both bones without it.

"It was tough. I remember the second time I did it I wanted to quit completely. I just thought 'I can't be going through another eight or nine months of this' - because it is agony to do it.

"But I'm lucky enough to be at a club like Liverpool and be surrounded by the right people - people who are willing to work with you out of hours and come back at night in their own time, when they shouldn't even be working, and try to get you back fit. That encourages you."

It would have been a terrible loss for English football if Warnock had given up hope. But thankfully he found the strength from somewhere to continue and gradually forced his way into the Liverpool side this season.

He said: "I didn't think what I might do if I quit, I just thought I couldn't go through it again. But once people came in from the academy to talk to me I just knew I had to come back and give it a go.

The surgeon wasn't sure whether I could recover from the break and wasn't sure whether he could do a good enough job to help me play again. But I was fortunate."

Now, after being called up by England, Warnock says he is 100 per cent fit.

"I don't even think about it any more," he said. "It's been a long recovery for me but it's been well worth it."

To watch the interview in full click on the links above.