Appleton, the head coach of Charlton, revealed that he was on the verge of retiring from football due to a career-threatening injury.

Michael Appleton, the new head coach of Charlton, has revealed that he considered leaving the sport after a medical error led to the end of his playing career. In 2001, Appleton was awarded a sum of £1.5 million in compensation for the manner in which a surgeon had handled an injury sustained in training. After undergoing six operations in two years, Appleton was forced to retire aged 26. “I went into my first operation with only one injury, and I came out with four,” Appleton said to the South London Press.

 

It can be difficult to comprehend the psychological impact of this situation on a young player in their twenties who was eager to play for the club. At the time, the Baggies were leading the Championship and had been promoted to the premier league. The player was still in the process of recovering from their injuries, and had to spend two years in hospital and in the gym every day. The injury had the potential to have a lasting impact on the player’s mental health, yet it did not. Despite the fact that the injury cost the player ten years of their career, it also provided them with the chance to enter the coaching profession at an earlier stage. Appleton cites the then Baggies manager, Gary Megson, as a key factor in sustaining his interest in the sport.

 

At the time, Appleton had expressed his intention to return to the north, to which Gary responded that he would remain with the club. He advised Appleton to remain in the daily routine of dressing, putting on the kit, going to the gym, prehabbing and rehabbing, and then observing the training. Appleton noted that he had developed a strong interest in weight training due to the injury, and that he may have gone on to become a Personal Trainer. Appleton has since completed a Masters in Sports Directorship and is currently in the process of completing a Postgraduate in Strategic Leadership.

Appleton had the privilege of working with Roy Hodgson, now the manager of Crystal Palace, at West Brom. He expressed his admiration for the manager’s attention to detail, noting that at his age, he still had the same enthusiasm, drive and will to win. Appleton also noted that Hodgson was a highly intelligent and proper footballer.