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Paddy Almond on hopeful return to football after fearing for his life with serious head injury

Paddy Almond speaks on a hopeful return to football after fearing for his life with a serious head injury in mid-January.

He was subbed off in the 2-1 FA Trophy loss at Southend, with the 20-year old was taken to hospital. He was later transferred to Royal London Hospital where he stayed for three weeks and found out that he had suffered a bleed on the brain.

After seeing his London specialist on Wednesday, the Sunderland teenager was informed that the swelling had decreased and that he may not require surgery.

Almond, who became a Quaker from Shildon in December on a dual-registration basis, said he didn’t know how serious his injury could have been when Danny O’Connor led him off the pitch.

After suffering a severe head injury in a Manchester car accident last summer, the centre-half was only able to return to action in November.

Almond’s family was helped by a fund that raised over £13,500 within days and the football family also responded to his distress.

Looking back on a frightening experience, Almond told BBC Look North: “They scanned me there, realised it was actually a bleed on the brain and I thought, not just football-wise, my health. I thought it could be life-threatening.

“My goal is to get back on a football pitch, but obviously in terms of what the doctors and consultants stay, it’s still up in the air.

“I’m still here and breathing, fortunately lucky enough to walk away from it able to get back to 100 per cent.”

He said: “At first, I thought it was just concussion. The symptoms are the same – headache, I had double-vision, I couldn’t really walk – and then when Danny carried me off the pitch, I just started being sick everywhere.”

Almond told ITV Tyne Tees: “It’s obviously not a nice place to be, in hospital, for any length of time.

“Someone’s who’s been there will probably tell you that but to have the support I have had – I couldn’t ask for anymore.

“It has been top draw, I couldn’t fault any of it. Obviously I didn’t ask for the money raised or anything but it still helps especially when I don’t know what the future holds for me.

“It’s going to give me the best chance of finding out if I can play, and if I can, the money will give me chance of rehab and getting me back, to whatever level I can.

“To see the amount of people doing it [raising money], other teams, other people, family, friends, it’s just been unbelievable.”

 “It all depends on how my head heals but obviously I’m not going to know until further down the line and they keep scanning it and see how it progresses.

“There’s still a chance of surgery at the moment, to remove some of the old blood and stuff that was still there so it’s all up in the air.

“There’s nothing I can really do about it.

“I thought I’d had my fair share of it after the last incident. I thought that might have been it, but obviously this time around, same injury.

“It’s sort of a shock to me but I am happy to still be here after everything because obviously some people aren’t as lucky as I am.”

Recalling the match in January, he said: “Up until that point it was just a normal sort of game. I prepared the same, no different.

“I was enjoying myself, it was a good game to be playing. Then from what I remember it was just keeper kick, the ball was in the air, I sort of stumbled a bit, headed it and then all of a sudden, on the sideline they were all shouting “Paddy, you alright?” and they stopped the game to check if I was alright.”

“Apparently I looked like I’d slipped and sort of stumbled a bit. To me I felt fine so carried on for another five minutes and it just got too much for me, the pain.

“I started seeing double of everything and ended up going off. Danny, the physio, helped me off the pitch, I was sick, I just couldn’t do it anymore.

“It’s strange one because I didn’t think necessarily think ‘oh I’ve done it again’. I just thought it might had been concussion.

“It can have the same side effects, but I knew after 10 minutes, when the pain wasn’t getting any easier, that it probably was a bit more serious than I thought.”

At the moment, Paddy Almond said he is focusing on staying positive and is determined to keep going.

He said: “It’s just obviously its a big blow.

“I wanted to do football and now it’s 50/50. Am I going to do football, am I not?

“It’s tough times, obviously I’m not going to know for a while I’ve just got to keep going.”

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