Matt Bloomfield waves an emotional goodbye to his playing career after doctors told him it’s not worth thinking about how another head injury could affect him.
An innocuous incident last year against Exeter has brought an abrupt end to his playing days after making 558 appearances for Wycombe Wanderers.
READ MORE: Wycombe Wanderers captain Matt Bloomfield announces retirement from professional football
A quick free-kick struck the 37-year-old in the back of the head and knocked him to the ground where he was treated on the field for 10 minutes before staggering off.
READ MORE: Wycombe Wanderers captain Matt Bloomfield announces retirement from professional football
He said: “I have not trained once since that incident at Exeter just because we needed to explore every avenue and repercussions because the effects were ongoing.
“A couple of times I tried to start exercising and then I didn’t feel right so I had to stop.
“I was doing things like reading with my girls and I wasn’t present.
“So it was a tough time.
“I knew this was different and I knew that the effects were different and more severe.”
Bloomfield says even now he “forgets the odd word” and his balance “isn’t great either”.
“Being out on the training pitch, people are kicking balls around and I’m really kind of quite nervous around that sort of scenario so there are ongoing things I’m dealing with,” he said.
The midfielder estimated he has suffered five concussions in the last four years as well as experiencing similar incidents in his younger years.
He recalled his horrific injury against Peterborough back in 2009 in a League Cup clash where he fractured both his cheekbones, his nose, and his jaw.
¡Nunca, jamás, olvidaremos este momento!
— Wycombe Wanderers Esp 🇪🇸 (@wwfcofficialES) February 2, 2022
Matt Bloomfield: El ganador de Wembley. pic.twitter.com/PO5OGYAOBl
Looking forward, he now hopes to raise awareness of the implications of head injuries in football and educate future generations of players.
He continued: “There’s risk attached to anything in life and there’s risk in football and we can’t take that risk away.
“I’m not going to sit here and say there shouldn’t be any heading.
“What I would like to do is to have more money dedicated to research so players know if they have a head injury exactly where they stand instead of in terms of their future brain health.
“I would like there to be more education for current players because over the years I’ve had to learn, but certainly my reaction every time has been ‘don’t get me off, I need to play on, I want to play’ so I think that needs to be more education.
“Footballers are more three and a half times more likely to get dementia than the average man on the street.
“My granddad didn’t play football, but he suffered from dementia at the end of his days and I saw him suffer.
LEGENDS. pic.twitter.com/djV9BsV2mc
— Wycombe Wanderers (@wwfcofficial) July 13, 2020
“It’s something that scares me of what might be in future life so it’s something I’m really passionate.”
Bloomfield will also shift his focus on his coaching career admitting he “would love to be a manager one day”.
He said: “I would love to continue my journey at this football club, that’s for sure.
"I love coaching, I love trying to be a leader.
READ MORE: Footballer, gentleman, legend: Wycombe fans show Adebayo Akinfenwa support with photos
"I’ve certainly enjoyed doing that as a coach alongside the gaffer and Dobbo so first and foremost, my focus is on I’m creating a future for myself, for my family by coaching and being the best possible coach I can be.
“Never say never. I’d love to be a manager one day and I’m really hopeful that opportunity might present itself at some point but first and foremost, I’m here as a coach.”
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