Thirty years later and it still remains one of the most dramatic FA Cup Final moments: tackling Nottingham Forest’s Gary Charles in the 1991 Wembley showpiece, Paul Gascoigne suffered a ruptured cruciate knee ligament.
At the time, Gascoigne was the biggest star in the English game, but the injury threw the future of his career – and the financial stability of Tottenham Hotspur – into jeopardy.
And it wasn’t just Gascoigne’s career on the line, but that of the team’s physiotherapist, John Sheridan, too.
“It was make or break for the both of us,” says Sheridan, who has recently released his autobiography, The Limping Physio. “Paul tried to play on at first, but he couldn’t. He looked at me with tears in his eyes and asked, ‘John, how long am I going to be out?’
“As a physio, you are so close to the players. I was so close to Paul that I was ready to go to the hospital straight away with him, but I had to wait until the match was over. It was my wedding anniversary and I had to drop everything.
“Even before Paul had been diagnosed I knew it was serious and I knew, from my own disability, that he had a long road to recovery ahead. I think that’s why I was such a good physio, because I understood the physical as well as the emotional trauma.”
As a teenager, Sheridan, now 78, from Glasgow, fractured his femur in three places in a road accident and caught osteomyelitis – an infection of the bone – which left him with a limp for the rest of his life.
“It was a life-threatening infection,” he remembers. “I was in hospital for a year and I struggled to stay positive, but somehow I managed to pull through.
“I knew I’d never be able to walk normally again, and slowly I came to terms with a new way of life. The whole experience taught me so much psychologically and helped me understand how it felt to have to fight for your health and fitness.”
After his recovery, Sheridan enrolled in a sports medicine course and learned his trade as a physiotherapist in non-league football, before entering the professional sphere with Luton Town in 1979 when then-manager David Pleat offered him a job.
Sheridan recalls: “I couldn’t believe it when David called me. The first thing I said was, ‘I’m disabled.’ He simply replied with, ‘Does it matter?’
“It was the opportunity of a lifetime, but I was scared stiff. Professional football was not something I’d ever thought about because of my disability. I knew the crowds and the players would notice my limp and I worried what they’d make of a limping physio.
“It wasn’t until my sixth game that I first had to run on the pitch, and the crowds jeered at me. I really took it to heart, but the players helped. They taught me to never let the fans see that I was upset.
“Soon I grew a thick skin and whenever the crowd shouted about my limp, I’d tip my cap at them and they’d all start cheering. Sometimes it’s about getting people on your side.”
Seven years after joining Luton Town, Sheridan moved to Tottenham Hotspur with Pleat and coach Trevor Hartley. It was here that Sheridan was thrust into the limelight when the team qualified for the 1991 FA Cup final.
The epic match ended with Spurs winning 2-1, courtesy of an injury-time own goal by the great Nottingham Forest defender – and Gasoigne’s England colleague – Des Walker. But the injury to the Spurs player had the biggest impact.
“Paul’s injury was devastating,” says Sheridan. “There was a huge amount of worry over whether he’d ever play at top level again, which was only made worse because he’d just been bought by Lazio and Tottenham’s finances meant they were counting on the transfer.
“Lazio gave us a deadline to get him better, and for the entire year it loomed over us. Paul was an inspiration and his dedication to get back on the pitch was phenomenal.
“We worked together day in, day out, to get him better. However, I was always aware that if I didn’t get him back on the pitch then I’d be out.”
Incredibly, Sheridan pulled it off. One year later, in September 1992, Gascoigne made his comeback playing for Lazio against Genoa.
“I was very proud of Paul,” remembers Sheridan. “But the pressure did get to me. People were telling me what I should or shouldn’t be doing.
“I was constantly looking over my shoulder, being grilled by fans or people down the pub. Everyone had an opinion. It was a lot for me to be in the spotlight.”
After staying at Tottenham Hotspur until 1993, Sheridan moved to Chelsea before leaving professional football to start a private sports injury practice.
During lockdown, he decided to write down his experiences so his grandchildren could read his life story. “One day my youngest son, Paul, came across the papers and suggested I turn them into a book,” says Sheridan.
“Even though I loved my career and I feel very lucky to have been offered so many amazing opportunities, I’ve never regretted leaving the world of professional football.
“It’s a tough arena, and the book is more about life in general, about overcoming a disability and the little guy triumphing. I think everyone can relate to that.”
The Limping Physio: A Life in Football is out now, from Pitch Publishing, at £19.99
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3zPjcFP
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