Blog – Dave Edwards – Official Website

April 12, 2016

The end to a 10-week journey

It has been a couple of weeks since my last blog as you might guess its bee hard work for me, I have really pushed myself to get fit as fast as I can.

At that point I had finished my conditioning week and was heading into my final week of rehabilitation with more football specific drills to make sure my foot could deal with the different exertions that football movement patterns expose it to. So, in my 10^th and final week I did football sessions with Phil Hayward on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday with no problems at all, I also joined in with the 1^st team for different passing drills. By the time Friday came I was desperate to join in full training!

It was always the plan to have a CT scan at around 10 weeks to make sure the bone was healing well and to make sure the screw in my 5^th metatarsal was still in a good position. I was 99.9% sure everything would be okay as I have had a really good rehabilitation since the fracture with no pain or setbacks occurring at any time, but it was still a massive relief for the radiographer and surgeon to both report on the scan positively giving me the all clear to join in full training. Even more pleasing was having the surgeon tell me that the scan actually looked like I was 14-16 weeks post operation rather than the actual 10 weeks. This just confirmed to me that all the sacrifices I made and dedication I showed was really worth it.

I have been adamant right the way through this process that the nutrition has played a huge role, it has allowed me to heal quicker and stronger with no need to take any sort of medication at all. I believe my food choices have helped decrease inflammation meaning I have had relatively little pain. Along with that, all the constant anti inflammatory processes I carried out, elevating my leg at every opportunity, massage and all the icing and compression through using the Game Ready machine has had a massive effect. I calculated that in the 10 weeks post surgery I have used the Game Ready about 250 times which equates to around 84 hours or 3 and a half days (no wonder I have had no pain in my foot, it has been numb!) On top of that, good sleeping patterns, all my specific work in the gym with the physio’s, and all my conditioning work with sports scientists has contributed to me being able to be back in training inside 10 weeks in the best possible shape. I think it is also important to mention that apart from the first 24 hours after the surgery I have not taken one tablet or painkiller.

I absolutely loved joining in training last Friday for the first time, it was great to be back in my usual morning routine preparing for our morning football session and great to be back amongst my team-mates. I then trained on Sunday and Monday, each time increasing the intensity in which I trained. I have had no pain at all in my foot since being back in training and no hesitancy either, whether it be going into tackles, closing people down, striking the ball or sprinting full out.

Dave Edwards number 4 shirt — My number 4 shirt, good to see you again, it’s been too long

I was over the moon to be included in the travelling squad to MK Dons on Tuesday. I love a match day routine and the chance to be in the dressing room helping the boys to prepare for a game was something I had been longing for over the last couple on months.

Things got even better when I was named on the substitutes bench, to have a chance of being back out on the pitch was an exciting thought, and as the game ebbed and flowed like a usual Championship encounter, I got the call to get ready with about 5 minutes to go. We were leading 2-1, which in usual circumstances is quite a difficult scenario to come on in because not really a lot can go right, you are being put on the pitch to see the game out and you are desperate not to make a mistake!

However, I was raring to come on, I was dreaming of a breakaway goal. James Henry had been putting in some magnificent crosses all game and I desperate to have the chance of getting on the end of one.

I was ready from about 85 minutes to come on but didn’t actually get the go ahead from the gaffer until injury time with about 3 additional minutes remaining. I managed to get one touch, a header that I flicked onto Adam Le Fondre so at least my pass completion read 100%. Joking aside, it was an incredible feeling to back on the pitch just 73 days since I fractured my metatarsal at Loftus Road. It has given me a platform to hopefully progress and get more minutes under my belt and push to be back in the starting 11 before the end of the season. Tuesday was also my 250^th appearance for Wolves, I am so proud to have played so many matches for such a great club!

One sour moment of Tuesday night was the horrific knee injury that Michael Zyro suffered. Michael is a great guy who I really have a lot of time for, he is a hard worker, a terrific footballer and has a great personality. Everyone knows it is going to be a tough, long road for him to get back to full fitness, he will have ups and downs physically and emotionally but he has a really positive attitude that will undoubtedly see him come back fitter and stronger. He has good people looking after him and team-mates that will always be there to help whenever they can.

Dave Edwards comes on as a substitute for Wolves — It’s good to be back finally – nothing better than kicking a ball!

I want to say a personal thanks to everyone who has helped me through these last 10 weeks.

The hard work of our medical team at Wolves has been incredible, they have gone above and beyond to make sure I returned in the best possible condition. There is an endless list of thank you’s that I need to give out for the amount of help and good will I have received but it would turn the blog into more of a novel!

My final thank you is to everyone who has read this blog. Through the blog and social media I have received so much support and encouragement, it has really spurred me on and played a huge part in my recovery. If you guys can all send the same support to Michael Zyro, Jordan Graham, Ethan Ebanks-Landell and Nouha Dicko as they recover from bad injuries it will help them in the same way you have all helped me! Thanks again and I hope I have given you an insight into the football world and what is like for an injured player.

Thanks for reading!

Eddo

March 28, 2016

Conditioning week & the media world!

It’s been another tough, physical week at the training ground but I am feeling great and the progress has been really good.

I have been out on the football pitches Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday this week, and although I was on football pitches there weren’t too many footballs to be seen!

As I close in on being able to join in with full training again, I have had the dreaded “conditioning week.” When I say dreaded, it is meant a bit tongue in cheek because it is still much better than sitting in the treatment room or in the gym, however I knew every single day I was outside this week that my legs and lungs would be in a lot of discomfort! There has been a real mix in all of the sessions to make sure I have been working hard in every aspect. From short & sharp multi directional sprints with little rest, to longer repeated runs of over 100-metres. At the end of every session I have felt physically exhausted and there is absolutely no hiding place as a GPS system & heart rate monitors track every movement from a small piece of equipment that I wear. These systems have become very important to football clubs as it allows staff to accurately see everything that each player is doing during training and games and from all the data that is collected, training sessions can be modified to get the optimum amount of work and recovery. It is a really important tool for me having suffered a foot injury as it means my loads can be monitored live throughout sessions so when I hit my targets that the medical department and strength and conditioning department have set for me then I can finish the session without the risk of being overloaded.

It has been important to get the fitness work in this week but also just as important has been the preparation and recovery I do before and after each session to make sure I am in the best possible condition. Before each outdoor session I have a routine of an assessment by Phil Hayward and some mobilisations all around my foot and ankle to make sure everything is moving in the correct way. I then have my soft tissue work with Matt Wignall our masseur. Matt will release all the tissues that connect with the initial injury site and any other areas that may be overloaded. I then have a routine in the gym, which takes me around 20 minutes to complete. I have been doing this same routine over the last 3 years which involves different dynamic movements and stretches to make sure my body is completely ready to go into the warm up when I get outside. Since I started this routine and along with my post training routine I have been mainly able to stay clear of any muscular injuries.

Jason Mohammad, myself and Kiy Symons before the Wales game

After my outdoor sessions this week I have been coming in and starting the anti inflammatory process of icing and elevating my foot, to make sure I limit any inflammatory response to the increased load. My afternoons have then been more specific work for my foot such as proprioception sessions with the physio’s and then my upper body conditioning sessions as well.

All in all the week has been a big success and it now allows me really concentrate on more specific football work next week, to give a real indication of how close I am to return to full training.

I have also been very busy away from the training ground this week. Once I suffered the injury I was adamant I would try and turn it into a positive in some way and along with writing this blog I wanted to gain some experience in the media world. I was fortunate enough to do some summarizing work with Mikey Burrows and Matt Murray for our game against Blues a few weeks ago, and on Thursday I was invited down to Cardiff by BBC Wales to join presenter Jason Mohammad and ex-Wales assistant manager Kit Symons to cover Wales’ game against Northern Ireland. I was really excited to have the opportunity to do some TV work although I was a little bit nervous knowing it was live.

Jason and Kit were great and along with all the other technical staff they made it really easy and comfortable for me. We were on air for the build up to the game, then again giving our views at half time and finishing up going through the game at full time. It absolutely flew by and I really enjoyed it although I would of much preferred to be down on the pitch representing my country! The game was pretty drab in all fairness but Wales did ever so well to fight back and get the draw against a really tough and resolute Irish side.

Me as a guest on the Saturday Sport Show on Sky News discussing the international break

On Saturday I headed down to Sky Studios to be a guest on the Saturday Sport Show on Sky News discussing the international break. This was really a great experience, from the moment I got there the whole place was so impressive. Being a genuine sports fan I was delighted to find out that the show would be aired in the Sky Sports studios and even more excited when the producer took me on a tour and I got to see the Sky Sports News set, it was huge and so much going on. After training on Friday I travelled down to Leicester to join Geoff Peters as a studio guest on TalkSport’s new station TalkSport 2 for ‘Up The League’, it’s a show that covers all things going on in the football league. The other studio guest was Steve Hodge, someone I know well from his time coaching at Wolves a few years ago. Steve had an amazing playing career and listening to his vast knowledge on the goings on in the football league was really impressive, and a real natural behind the microphone. Again, the time flew by and I thoroughly enjoyed it, it was so relaxed and just like having a chat with your mates down the pub about football….PERFECT!

I’m sure all football fans would love to see where things like Deadline Day and Soccer Saturday take place I was so fortunate to get that experience! After the little tour I then met Arron Armstrong who is a presenter at Sky, we chatted about the show and headed down to makeup.

I was mortified when I was sat in the chair and the very polite makeup artist starting applying foundation and anti shine, but after the initial shock and seeing what the miracle of makeup does I started to enjoy myself, I looked about 5 years younger before the dark eyes and sleepless nights that my children have given me! She even said I could take some wipes to wipe the it off with after I have finished but I said “No way, I’m keeping it on, I have to show my wife my new eyes!”

Arron Armstrong and myself before the show

I was pretty nervous going live on air, you have the bright lights shining on you and it wasn’t scripted at all so I didn’t really know exactly what I’d be talking about. Arron was great with me and made feel so much more relaxed and it was amazing to see how good he was as soon as the cameras started rolling. I didn’t realize just how talented Arron, Jason Mohammad and Geoff Peters all have to be, the amount of work that goes into these shows is immense, its not just about their voice and presenting, they are constantly managing timings, content and messages from colleagues, it really is impressive stuff!

I have thoroughly enjoyed the media experiences this week and I’d like to thank BBC Wales, TalkSport 2 and Sky for all being so welcoming and giving me the opportunity to go their shows.

Thank you all for reading again and hopefully by next week’s blog I’ll be on the verge of full training!

Eddo

March 20, 2016

From the sandpit to the grass pitches!

It has been 2-weeks since my last blog and the time is flying by. The reason for my blog absence last week was due to the medical department giving me a pre-planned 5-days away from the training ground.

Giving me the chance to rest up a bit both physically and mentally so I didn’t have a great deal of information to write about. It was always the plan to have a break at 6-weeks, and with my progress being on track it was nice to switch off for a few days and it left me feeling recharged and raring to get back into things this week!

I was back in the training ground on Saturday and my main aim was to get myself running at 90% of my body weight on the Alter G Anti Gravity treadmill, which I successfully did. This was the last bit of rehab I needed to tick off before the holy grail of being allowed back outside running on the grass. I also started doing some plyometric work in the sandpit at the training ground, this felt really good as I was really starting to load my foot in more multi directional jumps and hops, although finishing the session with 3 sets of 30 seconds high knee running wasn’t so fun!

Monday morning couldn’t come fast enough, being able to put your boots back on to go for a run on the grass is one of the huge milestones of a lengthy injury. I had done my early morning swim at Nuffield Health in Wolverhampton, I then went through my normal routine before heading outside about 11am. The plan was to do 4-sets of 4-minute runs at a jogging pace with very early stage agility and ball work in between these sets.

Just to be running outside in a pair of boots felt incredible although I did feel very apprehensive as I started but thankfully the session went to plan and most importantly I had no pain at all. From Monday the week built up really nicely, I was outside again on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday with a lighter day on Wednesday. Each outdoor session progressed every day and by the end of the week I was doing some slalom runs over 80 metres loading more through the outside of the foot (5th metatarsal region) and this was at a good 80% of my maximum pace. Also the agility work was getting a bit more intense, I was picking up the speed through different ladder and hurdle drills and with that the ball work was increasing.

Mentally this has all been great, it really picks up your mood seeing that the end is almost in sight. It has also been nice to do a lot of my work with Nouha Dicko this week. We are at a similar level in what we can do now although Nouha will obviously be a bit further away from full fitness due to the severity of his injury but it is nice to be working alongside him, as it seems a long time since we were playing together at Molineux!

Apart from the obvious highs of the outdoor rehab, I have still been having all my treatments off the medical staff, doing specific rehab in the gym mainly balance and proprioception work, upper and lower body conditioning session 3 times a week, high intensity interval training twice this week, sand pit plyometric sessions 3 times this week and also 3 early morning swimming sessions. I absolutely love the swimming and have been doing it 4 weeks now, my first session was doing sets of 6 lengths (20 metre pool I think) and I was absolutely knackered after that but on Friday I did 50 lengths straight off which is 1000 metres and I did it in less than 20 minutes. I think I could end up being a triathlete after this last 8 weeks!

This week also saw me make my debut in the Molineux press box. I was lucky enough to be asked by to join him and Matt Murray to commentate on Wolves’ game against Birmingham on Sunday. It was a typically tight derby game with no one wanted to give too much away but it was very enjoyable to watch. It was very different to be sat up in the top tier of the Billy Wright Stand watching the game, it definitely looks a lot easier to play from up there and it seems like there is more space than when you are actually down on the pitch in the thick of the action but it does allow you to accurately see what is happening tactically and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience on giving my thoughts and opinions on the game. I have also been asked by BBC Wales to be a guest on their coverage of Wales’ game with Northern Ireland on Thursday which is another great chance for me to get some more media experience.

I’m really looking forward to another week of progress and I’m sure by the time I write next weeks blog I will have a good idea of how far away from training I am.

Thanks as always for taking the time to read this!

Eddo

March 6, 2016

Jumping, hopping, jogging and Anti-Gravity treadmill

Another really positive week on my road back to full fitness. After tentatively coming out of my boot last week, I am now fully weight bearing and walking freely in my trainers.

The progression this week started with some jumping, hopping and jogging on a trampette, I have also been doing some proprioception work, this has involved single leg balance work to start with, then I have progressed to more tricky surfaces and have ended the week doing single leg work on a BOSU ball whilst returning volleys and headers back to a server. If this had been mentioned to me at the start of the week, I would of struggled to envision this happening with it being such a difficult progressive exercise.

The big progression this week has come on an amazing piece of equipment we have at the training ground. We are so lucky to have this state of the art machinery at our disposal and it really does cut down recovery time from an injury because it gets you back into walking and running without having to be fully weight bearing. The machine I am talking about it an Alter G Anti Gravity Treadmill. The Alter G in simple terms is a treadmill that uses air pressure to create a state of anti-gravity enabling you to reduce your body weight whilst walking or running. This is great as it means I can gradually load my foot until I am ready to run outside. I zip myself into this vacuum of air and press some buttons as I feel the vacuum inflate. I have been using the Alter G at 70% of my body weight and jogging at speeds between 7kmh and 9kmh for three-minute intervals. I have done this three times this week with no pain at all, I am a long way ahead of where I expected to be at this point of my rehabilitation.

The rest of the week has been filled with icing, massage, mobility exercises, upper body weight sessions, swimming sessions, core sessions, rowing and exercise bike HIIT sessions. Its been a really hard week, but really enjoyable and I feel like I have made huge progress.

After some discussions with Phil Hayward our head physiotherapist, we have agreed that I will have a 4 or 5 days off this coming week. It has been very intense the last 6 weeks and I have been very strict mentally with everything I have done, with me being ahead of schedule it seems a good time to just shut off for a few days so I don’t end up pushing myself too hard and regretting it. I will still have a program to follow in my days off but everyone agrees that it is important for me to mentally switch off and give my body a chance to rest.

At the Manchester Arena watching the boxing. — At the Manchester Arena
watching the boxing.

As well as a great week at the training ground, I have had some fun away from there too. I love boxing and was fortunate enough to be able to go and watch Scott Quigg fight Carl Frampton at the Manchester arena on Saturday night. Along with Carl Ikeme and Aaron McCarey, we were part of an incredible atmosphere that saw Carl Frampton edge the fight by points in a split decision. The noisy Irish fans and Aaron were ecstatic! Fair play to them boxers though, the nerves and expectation they must go through is immense, it is a sport I have always loved watching, I love their skill and dedication, but that moment walking down to the ring knowing there is a guy in the opposite corner wanting to knock you out must be terrifying!

I also got to go and watch another Shrewsbury Town game. Obviously I much prefer being fit but I rarely get to go and watch my local team as our fixtures always clash, so I am making the most of it. I got invited along to the game on Tuesday night against Rochdale as they wanted to show some recognition to the squad of players who got promoted from the Conference back into the Football League 12 years ago. This was a big season for me personally, I had made my debut the last game of the previous season in an already relegated team but during this promotion campaign I played around 20 games as a young 17 year old who would just run and run (not much has changed!) To be playing competitive football at such a young age sky rocketed my development and I fear that not enough young professionals nowadays are getting the chance to do this but that is for another (much longer) blog! Back to the game on Tuesday, it was a privilege to be invited and it was great seeing some old faces. We got a lovely reception on the pitch at half time and along with one of the other lads little boy, my boy Jack enjoyed being on the pitch running from side to side dodging the sprinklers, I even caught them taunting the Rochdale fans! Shrewsbury played really well and were more than worthy of the 2-0 score line.

Thanks as always for reading!

Hope you enjoyed it.

Eddo

February 28, 2016

Positive steps forward & my FA cup!

Moving into my 5th week of rehab everything has been progressing nicely.

Each week I have a breakdown of targets and milestones of where I should be at in terms of my recovery and fitness and each week I have been achieving these. It is important to have this breakdown as it makes you realise how much you are actually progressing and you also get a great sense of satisfaction every time you achieve one of these small goals.

This week has seemed like I have made some big steps in my recovery. At the start of the week I was aware that we would start doing some very early stage rehab out of the air cast boot that I have been wearing for the last couple of weeks, I was extremely tentative on Monday when Phil Hayward asked me to bring both of my trainers into the gym as he had a Glute activation session planned for me.

Glute activation in basic terms is different exercises to help recruit the gluteal muscles (bum muscles) which will help your hamstrings, lower back and other muscle groups not to become overloaded. I was doing these various exercises with a resistance band placed around my ankles, some exercises where my feet were planted and others which involved me walking. As I said, on Monday I was very tentative about where I could put my left foot down, very cautious about where my foot placement was and very cautious that I didn’t want to transfer too much weight to the outside of my foot where my injury was. However by Friday and after 5 consecutive days of these different drills I was doing them as if there was never a problem and if I was fully fit. This felt to me as huge progress!

When you get injured it seems impossible that you will ever move with the same freedom that you previously had, but as the weeks go by, you keep breaking down each barrier that you had put up in front of yourself as you edge closer to full fitness. I still get a bit envious when I see someone just jump up out of a chair quickly without worrying where they put their foot, or when someone just wriggles their foot into an already tied shoe as I’m watching squeamishly at the pain that would cause me. Every single week though, I am amazed at how much more I can do compared with the previous one and I’m sure next week when I’m back to full weight bearing and out of the air cast boot completely, I will then find it hard to believe the discomfort and awkwardness I had felt when I first put a trainer on my left foot at the start of the week.

This week I have also been allowed to start swimming. I have mentioned in the last few blogs that I have been looking forward to this and it hasn’t disappointed. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday I have headed straight to Nuffield Health club in Wolverhampton. I have been getting there for around 8am and using their outdoor pool to do about 30 minutes of swimming. They have amazing facilities and I love the idea of swimming outside in the fresh air, although it is a bit nippy when you first step out of the doors in just your shorts! After I have finished I feel so mentally refreshed, it really sets me up for the rest of the day and I’m raring to head over to the training ground afterwards to start my gym sessions and rehab.

Kicca the Kangaroo and Lenny the Lion with the FA Cup — Kicca the Kangaroo
and Lenny the Lion
with the FA Cup

There has been a huge hype in my native Shrewsbury over the last couple of weeks about the F.A Cup 5th round tie with the footballing giants Manchester United. It was a great draw for the whole town and the first ever competitive game between the two teams. As F.A Cup fever hit Shrewsbury we were very lucky that the trophy got to visit our indoor soft play centre Little Rascals. Armed with security guards, children managed to get their pictures taken with the iconic cup and I even managed to get a hold. It wasn’t quite Wembley steps but I still loved it and it has left me dreaming!

I managed to go to the game with my boy Jack, brother Chris and nephew Tom. We were all very excited and the atmosphere was brilliant. Unfortunately for Town, it didn’t turn out as they would of hoped and Manchester United were very impressive as they cruised to a 3-0 win. It is a magnificent achievement though for Shrewsbury to get so far in the competition and hopefully it will spur them on to push up the table.

After a few difficult games and results for us at Wolves, I was so delighted to watch us get back to winning ways against Derby. I thought the whole club united in the face of adversity to win that game. From the performance on the pitch from the lads, the work the staff have put in and of course the passionate support from the fans. I think huge credit should go to the fans as it was an afternoon where emotions were high and the fans really got behind the lads and spurred them on to a huge result. Well done Wolves fans!

Thanks for reading as always!

Eddo

February 21, 2016

Nutrition and the Etihad

In one of my favourite books Psycho-Cybernetics, scientist Maxwell Maltz claims that it takes a minimum of 21 days to form a new habit.

Moving into week 4 of my recovery I have found this to be somewhat true, especially with my food! As I have said in my previous blogs, I have been very disciplined with what I am fuelling my body with, as I know nutrition plays a vital part in all aspects of recovery.

However, I have had a lot of cravings and it has been very tough. I have taken all refined sugars out of my diet (except for half a teaspoon with a cup of tea) and after lots of research I knew a sugar crash would come, a sugar crash is that moment when your mind feels fuzzy, you have a headache, you feel lethargic and you are desperate for a Mars bar! Anyway, this week I feel that all of them cravings have gone and I am no longer looking in the back of our kitchen cupboards hoping to find an old Twix bar.

Ben Coomber's Bodytype Nutrition — Ben Coomber’s Bodytype Nutrition

Emptying our cupboards of anything that we don’t consider to have a nutritional benefit has been key to staying on track. If it’s not in the house, you can’t eat it! I have been so lucky that my wife Emma has been able to help me, Emma is a Personal Trainer and she is fascinated with nutrition. She has been studying a course developed by Ben Coomber called Body Type Nutrition. Ben Coomber is a bit of a nutritional guru, if anyone reading this is interested in nutrition you have to listen to his podcasts, they are brilliant and so informative. He understands that not everyone is an expert and explains the concepts very simply to make it easy to understand. I follow him on Twitter and Instagram and he always puts good stuff on there too.

With the help of Emma and her ever increasing knowledge we have put together meal plans for the week so we know exactly what we are eating every day, this has definitely helped as I think its when you are not prepared, this is when you are most likely to grab something quick and on the run which might not be great for you. I identified certain foods that will optimize my recovery and without going into too much detail of their benefits, I knew my diet had to be full of leafy greens like kale and spinach, good quality protein like eggs, fish and lean meats, good fats like nuts, seeds and avocados, good quality fruit (especially berries) and vegetables, try to only drink water or green tea (I’ll always have a normal brew though twice a day!) and reduce refined sugars as much as possible. To give you an idea of what and how I eat here is a typical day;

Breakfast – Omelette with Ham, Onions and Mushrooms
Lunch – Salmon, Sweet Potatoes, Spinach and Lettuce / Tea / Chicken and loads of Vegetables
Snacks – On the way to Wolverhampton I’ll take a smoothie in the car that contains: Kale, Broccoli, Avocado, Ginger, Celery, Pineapple, Banana and Flax seeds.
After my weights or CV session – I will have a Vegan Protein Shake.
When I get home – I will a have some of our homemade ‘Paleola’ this looks like Granola but contains Almonds, Coconut oil, Nuts and seeds and some local honey.
In the evening – I will have a bowl of Greek Yoghurt with Blueberries, Strawberries and Raspberries.

It might seem boring to some people but there is a lot of food there and it has made a huge difference. My body fats have come down and my muscle mass has gone up and I am convinced it improving my healing!

My son Jack at Man City vs Spurs at the Etihad

My week has been quite similar to the previous in terms of treatments, exercise and schedule but I am getting a lot more comfortable putting weight through my foot even though it is with the big aircast boot on. I can get rid of the crutches on Monday and then I will have 2 final weeks in the aircast boot until I can put some normal footwear back on and be full weight bearing.

I’m looking forward to Monday as I can start incorporating swimming and bike sessions into my fitness work. It will be nice to start exercising with my legs again and take some emphasis away from all the upper body work I have been doing. I’m especially looking forward to getting in the pool. Swimming is something I have always enjoyed and it will give me the opportunity to do some sessions away from the training ground and from a mental point of view it will be good to get a change of scenery.

Away from Wolves and myself, my little boy Jack is football mad and he has been desperate for me to take him to a Premier league game. I had tickets for Everton vs Swansea at Goodison Park but unfortunately this was the day after I got injured against QPR so I wasn’t able to take him. He was gutted, he had wrote out the teams and had been revising all of their names so he knew who exactly he was going to be watching. I promised him as soon as my foot was a bit better I would take him to a game.

I managed to get me and him tickets to watch Man City vs Spurs at the Etihad on Sunday, he had been so excited all week leading up to the game and we had a magical day together. It’s usually Jack watching me play so I really loved taking him to a big game as father and son.

From the moment we got there and we watched the teams arrive on the bus to the moment he passed out in the car on the way home he had the biggest smile on his face! We met Joe Hart after the game and even though Jack has met him before this was the first time he has seen him knowing exactly what a famous player he is!

Joe was kind enough to give Jack his match shirt and sign it for him, he also signed a little team sheet that Jack had made, Jack was so grateful. Joe even took him down to the dressing rooms and onto the pitch for a picture, he was such a lucky little boy! When he got back in the car I turned to him and he said, “Daddy, this has been the best day I have ever had!” I had such a lovely day watching him enjoy himself, unfortunately Man City didn’t win but that didn’t take the smile off his face. After meeting Joe I did say to Jack “Did you know that daddy once scored past Joe when Wolves beat Man City?” he looked at me like I was mad!

Thanks again for reading!

Eddo

February 14, 2016

Discipline, Euros and Progress

Throughout my football career so far I have always thought I have been a very good professional.

When I was younger I would have the odd night out with my friends, lads holidays, takeaways and other little things but I always knew I had sacrificed a lot to make my dream become a reality. Along with a really good work ethic and a bit of luck I have seen myself play at levels I could only ever dream of.

However, since my operation 20 days ago, my dedication and discipline to every aspect of my life has gone onto another level. If I had of lived my last 13 years as I have lived my last 3 weeks then I know I would have been a better player, but unfortunately I also know I wouldn’t have had the mindset or knowledge at 18 to say no to a Domino’s once a week, a no to my favourite local chippy, or a no to a few pints with my mates.

That said, I am now 30 years old, fighting hard to be back playing for Wolves by the end of the season but also fighting hard to make a football dream come true by having the possibility of being selected for Wales for Euro 2016. All the sacrifices I am making now will be worth it 100 times over if I am fit and back playing by the end of the season. But, if I didn’t do everything in my capabilities to come back fit and strong and consequently then didn’t play for Wolves again this season and didn’t get selected for the Welsh squad due to that then I know I would never be able to forgive myself. So every morning the first thing I see when I walk downstairs and into the kitchen is a chalk board on the wall saying “Live a life of DISCIPLINE or you will live a life of REGRET! Its a saying which I have always liked but it has never seemed truer!

“Live a life of DISCIPLINE or you will live a life of REGRET!”

I will do everything in my power to be fit and playing well before the summer. I have always been very proud to represent my country, always loved being away with the squad and always given 100%.

During my early international years, we never really threatened to qualify, a few bad results early on in campaigns meant we were always playing catch up and by the end of the campaign our main priority would be to just try and improve our position hoping for a better seeding in the following campaign. Over the last few years though Welsh football has risen to phenomenal heights, it feels like the last 10 years or so has been all about gaining experience and confidence for this group of players, back room staff and loyal supporters to all come together and create history. We have some world class players in Gareth Bale, Aaron Ramsey and Ashley Williams but also have a squad full of premier league players. It is a dream for me to have been part of this campaign and played so many minutes. The atmosphere within the camp is always amazing, there is a passion which I have never seen to this extent of players and staff doing everything within their power to not let anyone down. So whether or not I make that squad to France, Welsh fans should know that you are watching a special group of players wearing the dragon proudly on their shirts.

Bringing myself back to the present, I have had a really good week at the training ground. My progress has been good and I feel I have made huge strides this week. My foot is now in an air cast boot, this means I can start putting some weight through the foot. Although my gym sessions haven’t eased up this week, not having to rely on the crutches so much means my arms haven’t been as constantly tired.

I also had my stitches out and the wounds are looking very good. I’m hoping that in another week they will be healed fully so I will be able to get into the pool and do some swimming. It will be nice to to have a change of scenery from the gym! The gym at the training ground is amazing, but after spending so much of your day in there it does get a bit repetitive. Even more so when the sun comes out. The gym overlooks the 1st team training pitch and sometimes it’s inspiring to see the lads out there training but other times it can make you feel quite down.

Dicko dreaming in between sets of our circuit.

The sun was out on Thursday and the lads were buzzing around the training pitches. Inside, Nouha Dicko, Razak Boukari and myself were doing an arm bike/ rowing/ core circuit in the gym, trust me this isn’t as exciting as playing football outside in the sun! I have only been injured for 3 weeks but Nouha and Razak are recovering from bad knee injuries and have been in that gym for 5 months. In between sets of our circuit I sat down for a drink and I caught Nouha looking out of the window. I had to take a picture of him because it just symbolised to me how mentally tough it is being injured. You could see Nouha dreaming almost reaching out to just be fully fit and back out there playing again. All the injured boys work hard, but seeing how much effort Nouha and Razak put into each and every session, day after day inspires me to never give less than 100%. I can’t wait to see them back playing, Nouha has been great for Wolves, and it will be a travesty if Wolves fans didn’t get to see how talented and what a tremendous footballer Razak is!

I am already looking forward to Monday to get started on another week of progress. I’m 25% of the way there already! Thanks for all your kind messages and please, if there is anything you would like me to talk more in depth about let me know.

Thanks for reading again!
Eddo

February 7, 2016

Back to the office – no pain, absolutely no gain and turning the big 3-0!

After a first week of mainly rest, recovery and a bit of boredom, I was looking forward to Monday morning. The repetition of icing, elevating my leg and using the exogen machine had become a little bit mundane, so the thought of being back at the training ground and back amongst all the lads and staff was exciting! Little did I know I would be struggling to manoeuvre my crutches out of the training ground on Friday due to the pounding my arms and upper body had taken during the week! All football clubs can differ, but here at Wolves when you are injured, be prepared for hard work.

The day of an injured player can vary depending on what stage of recovery you are at. For my injury, a ‘medium term injury’ it is important to keep fitness levels high and body fats down. When the time comes that you have recovered from your injury you will then go through a conditioning period with the fitness coaches before going back into training. If you have maintained fitness levels during the injury and your body is in good shape then this conditioning stage can be significantly reduced. My goal is to be back and playing as many games as I can before the end of the season, so any time I can shave off my anticipated return will help me even if it is just a few days.

Aside from the fitness work, the key things for me this week were to:

Restore ankle range and movement
Reduce inflammation
Maintain muscle bulk in key muscle groups
Maintain core stability
Maintain upper body power
Maintain CV fitness

The first part of the day is spent in the treatment room, Phil Hayward (Head of Medical) assesses me every morning. Phil then starts my mobilisations to try and restore some movement in my ankle and my foot. I then get my soft tissue work done off Matt Wignall who is our first team sports therapist. He will work to move any swelling away from the foot. He will also do some release work on any overloaded muscle tissue to keep me in as good nick as possible. By mid morning I am then working on reducing inflammation with ice and compression. I will then do specific early stage rehab in the gym and also work on my lower leg muscles to maintain the muscle bulk whilst I am not training. Before dinner I will also fit in one of Phil Haywards killer core sessions! These look so easy to do, but when done properly they are really tough work. I do dread the core sessions because I know I will be pain for the majority of it, good pain though.

After dinner and after the food has settled in my stomach its gym time. I do really like going in the gym knowing I am going to work hard and come out feeling a lot better. Because of me still being non-weight bearing on my injured foot, everything has been upper body to avoid doing anything that might aggravate the healing. I have had 3 upper body weight sessions this week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday.) These sessions have been tough as Tony Daley our fitness coach has set up the session in a circuit style. After an 8 station circuit where I do 8 repetitions on each exercise, I get a one minute rest and then repeat 4 times. By the 4th set it is pretty gruelling! Especially when you are moving between stations on crutches with your arms already pumping.

All this gym work has been very tough and I am definitely feeling the effects of it this weekend. But it is nice to do the physical work when you are not out on the training pitches. To get the most out of each session I put my earphones in, put YouTube on my phone and play some motivational stuff! I find this really helps me, its like have a Personal Trainer in your ear not allowing you to give up and push yourself to the limit. My favourite videos this week have been from a YouTube channel called CJ Chan, these videos really make me determined to work hard, they are short 5 minute or so videos with motivational speeches and music playing. I was first attracted the CJ Chan videos because of the Wolves reference, one video is called ‘The Wanderer’ then there is another video which is my favourite called ‘The Wolfs’ this will make you give every ounce of energy you have! I also love listening to Les Brown who is a motivational speaker and Eric Thomas, an ex NFL star who is a great motivator also. Any suggestions on some good videos will be greatly appreciated as I am going to be spending a lot of time the gym!I also did 2 high intensity interval training sessions on Tuesday and Thursday. Rich Kirby one our first team strength and conditioning coaches took these sessions and it is great because he really gets the most out of you. On Tuesday I did my session with Niall Ennis one of our young starlets. We did a 6 station circuit which included 3 consecutive one minute arm exercises followed by 3 consecutive one minute core exercises. It was a mind over matter circuit where your mind was desperate to give up but you just have to keep going. I think poor Niall wanted to drop a few times but fair play to him, he grinded it out. I don’t think he wanted a first team lad to see him give up. On Thursday I did my session with Mike Williamson, it was 2 old timers grinding out an old school session knowing one didn’t want to be out done by the other! Rich also took me and Mike for another slower state CV session on Friday which involved the rowing machine and arm bike. It was good to get an extra session in knowing I had the weekend off.

Mentally, this week has been a range of emotions. Firstly, I am delighted with the progress that I am making. Although I am still non weight bearing, I have had no pain in my foot at all. This makes me feel very positive about how the bone is healing and my progression. There is nothing worse than waking up with pain every day, it puts you in a negative mindset straight away. I had this when I was out with a back injury for the best part of 8 months in 2011. I would wake up every morning in pain after a restless sleep, I would struggle to play with Jack whilst he was a baby or carry him and it became very debilitating. Whereas now apart from the awkwardness of being on crutches, I am totally fine, I sleep well, I’m on no pain medication and I can crawl around and play with my children. These positives make a massive difference.

The only time I have really felt down this week was firstly on Tuesday night and Saturday afternoon when I was sat at home watching the football scores come in. I know there is nothing I can physically do about not playing at the moment but not being involved with the lads in the build up to a game and then during the 90 minutes still hurts me. I love playing football, and I know there will never be anything that I do in my life after football that will be able to replicate the same buzz you get when playing in front of a stadium full of passionate fans. The combination of nerves, excitement and a burning desire to win a game of football is something special and not having that in the upcoming weeks is going to be tough!

Away from football, I celebrated turning the big 3-0 on Wednesday. I always thought 30 sounded kind of old as Im sure many others did in their school and teenage years. In football terms 30 is the stage of your career where you never really want to get to as it almost seems the clock is ticking down on your playing career. I am embracing it though and still feel very young both in my mind and my legs, I will just have to see how long that lasts. I was delighted to see Mike Williamson sign for us last week, not only for his defensive prowess but it also means I am not the only Wolves player in their 30’s! I did have a lovely birthday though, Jack and Evie were more excited than me which made it extra special! After I got back from the training ground I had a lovely afternoon with them, they made me a lovely card each and decorated a cake for me as well. These are the special things in life and it makes the day mean so much more. Because I have been making sure I eat and drink the right things I decided to wait to Friday night to celebrate and finally give myself my first treat since the injury. Me and another 14 of my family went to celebrate at our favourite place ‘The Smoke Stop’ which is in Ford just outside Shrewsbury for a beautiful meal. Its great for kids and if you like some good old American styled BBQ food you have to go!

Anyone who knows me will know I am not the most practical when it comes to fixing things around the house. My wife did once ask me to change a light bulb in Evie’s room and I thought I’d done a pretty stellar job until she went to turn the light switch on and the bulb fell out (true story!) So turning 30 I think my family thought it was time I owned my first set of tools. My wife got me a big tool box and other family members got me various tools to fill it with it! I am now officially DIY Dave in our household.

Thanks for reading this weeks blog, hope you have enjoyed it. Also thank everyone so much for all the kind comments regarding my very first blog last week!

Eddo

February 5, 2016

Footballers mind-set to an injury – Road to Recovery

My main aim once I was home was to reduce the swelling. I had a lot of bandages on so I wasn’t able to ice effectively.

James Calder asked me to keep my foot above my hip as much as possible so the fluid would drain, he recommended for every hour, I shouldn’t spend longer than 5 minutes with my foot down. This isn’t as easy at it sounds! Luckily Emma has been amazing and has waited on me all week!

I am non-weight bearing for the first two weeks so even if I do make myself a drink it is near impossible to take it to another room without spilling it. So it has meant Emma has been doing everything. Its difficult as well not being able to really engage with Jack and Evie when they are playing. I seem to be trying to persuade them to either play a board game or watch a film with me. Nevertheless they have been keeping me well entertained, Jack showing me his football tricks and Evie doing her gymnastic routines!

One thing I can control is my diet! I am a bit of a chocoholic and I do have to watch what I eat as my metabolism doesn’t seem to the same as most of the boys in our team! I did a lot of research in hospital on how to improve my recovery and with some help from Emma who is a personal trainer and a real nutrition enthusiast and help from the sports science team at Wolves we have come up with a plan, which especially during the first 2 weeks will be vital on how quickly I will recover.

As I said earlier, the first few weeks are all about reducing swelling so I am eating foods high with anti inflammatory values, no refined sugars, and foods with high calcium content to help bone growth. So as you can imagine our fridge is very green and natural at the moment, we have kale and spinach coming out of our ears! I do love my cheat meals and chocolate but I know especially in the early stages I have to be disciplined enough to see the bigger picture! Not as easy as it sounds but one week in and so far so good!

I was back in at the training ground on Thursday to see the medical team. They wanted to take my bandages off and assess the wounds. Also Phil Hayward could give me different things to get started with to help with the recovery process! I could start using a Game Ready machine at home, which is a brilliant bit of equipment, it supplies ice and compression using different body part wraps. I could also start using an Exogen machine; this is a bone-healing piece of equipment, which uses high frequency waves applied to my foot to encourage bone growth. Once the bandages were off, it was interesting to see how my foot looked, and I was very impressed with how the scars looked, I also didn’t have much swelling so all the keeping my foot above my hip had really helped!

Now back at home one week on from the injury, I’m sat at home watching the football scores on the TV, Game Ready on whilst writing my first ever blog! Since the injury, everything has gone to plan and I have had a really positive week, everything seems to be on track. I’m hoping a weekly blog will help me along my road to recovery but also give people who read it a real personal insight into the football world and what it takes, mentally and physically to recover from an injury. As I’ve mentioned footballers live a privileged life but I know players who have really struggled with mentally overcoming their battles with injury and this will hopefully touch on some of the mental battles that I am going to face. But for now, I am positive, have great people around me and I’ve already nearly completed 10% of my road to recovery!

Hope you enjoyed it!

February 2, 2016