A Wrexham player has opened up about how he was close to quitting football following a serious ankle injury
Wrexham midfielder Ollie Rathbone has revealed he came close to walking away from football altogether following a devastating ankle injury sustained during pre-season. The 29-year-old was crowned the Welsh club’s player of the season last campaign after playing a pivotal role in their League One promotion.
However, Rathbone’s celebrations were cut short when he suffered a setback during Wrexham’s pre-season tour of New Zealand and Australia, casting doubt over his involvement in the club’s first second-tier season in more than four decades. The former Rotherham United player, who signed for the Red Dragons in August 2024, had been restricted to just one appearance this term until his recent resurgence.
That changed on December 13 when he popped up with a crucial late leveller in a 2-2 home draw with Watford in the Championship. Rathbone then produced more late drama on Monday, emerging from the bench to net Wrexham‘s decisive second goal in a 2-1 victory over Preston North End at the Racecourse Ground.
After the Watford match, he admitted feeling like the “forgotten man” during his spell on the sidelines. The Manchester United academy graduate has taken to LinkedIn to share the full extent of his struggles, disclosing that he seriously considered hanging up his boots for good.
He credits his parents with talking him out of retirement, posting images that laid bare the considerable time between his pre-season setback and his return to competitive league action.
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Rathbone posted: “There are 150 days between the two photos below. The picture on the left is me limping off the pitch in pre-season with a serious ankle injury. The picture on the right is me scoring a 90th-minute equaliser two minutes after coming on in my first league appearance of the season.
“The time in between has been by far the most difficult period of my career, getting back to full fitness, set back after set back and finding myself out the team. I hated the situation I found myself in, I felt sorry for myself, wallowed in self pity and moaned to anybody who would listen about how hard done by I had been.”
He added: “I told my parents one afternoon how fed up I was and how I was close to completely sacking it off, they looked at me and said, ‘Oliver that’s not you and it’s definitely not us.’”.
“They made me promise that no matter what I would stay positive, give my all and make sure I was ready for my chance when it came. The fact they were there to see that goal made it even more special, it only happened because of them.”
Ollie Rathbone is the son of ex-defender Mick Rathbone, who represented Preston during his playing career before rejoining the club as a physiotherapist after hanging up his boots. Wrexham’s victory against the Lilywhites lifted them to 11th place in the Championship standings and leaves them just four points adrift of the play-off positions.
Nathan Broadhead netted the first goal for the Red Dragons in the 29th minute of Monday night’s match, heading in a cross from his Wales international teammate Kieffer Moore. Rathbone then doubled Wrexham’s lead with just over ten minutes remaining, before Alfie Devine scored a late consolation goal for Preston.
Speaking after the match, Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson said: “I’m very pleased. I felt it was important that we backed up the Boxing Day win and performance and we spoke to the lads about that mentality.
“Tonight was about if we could respond to a really good performance where we had a lot of praise against Sheffield United and have that accountability individually and collectively. I felt we did that really well.”
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