- By Stanley Go
- ` News
21 minutes ago
image source, Andy Walkden, Hereford FC
picture description,
Njie’s last club was Hereford FC
Gambia international and former Stoke City player Pa Sulay Njie has spoken out about how an injury-plagued career and failure to find a new club has led to depression.
The 30-year-old, who graduated from Coventry City’s academy alongside England internationals James Maddison and Callum Wilson, has been without a club since July last year.
Whilst his fellow students were enjoying successful careers, Njie hopped from club to club in the English non-League due to injury problems, although he also played in Turkey with Hatayspor.
“When you’re injured you’re not a happy person,” Njie told ` Africa Sport.
“You get mood swings, you get frustrated, and that’s what I went through. I was depressed and it takes a lot of mental strength to get over that.”
“Like in prison”
image source, Andy Walkden, Hereford FC
picture description,
Despite his early promise, Njie has spent most of his career in the English league
Njie left Coventry youth sides in 2010 and signed for nearby Nuneaton Town. He then had a short stint at Stoke City but did not get any first-team games.
After joining Kettering, Boston and Shrewsbury in the 2010s, he ended up in his native Gambia and played for Real de Banjul.
Having spent some time on the fringes of his national team squad, he was picked up in 2019 by Hatayspor – the club who recently signed Christian Atsu, who remains missing after Turkey’s earthquake.
However, he was left without a club again when he failed to play at a high level in Turkey again due to injuries.
“It’s a very difficult place because as an adult you just want to play football and enjoy it,” he said.
“When you’re injured you can’t really play, even though you want to be out there.
“It’s almost like being in prison because you want to get out but you can’t get out.”
Njie said he is currently training with Oxford United to get fit again and get another chance.
“When the transfer window comes, it’s always difficult because your hope and your dream is to play in a team you want,” he explained.
“Opportunities are limited. Not every club is looking for free agents. They all have goals and it’s always a difficult time for players at this time, so mentally it’s very difficult.”
Despite his age, Njie said he will not give up his career and believes he still has a few years of football left in him.
“I have a lot of faith and trust in myself and that’s what keeps me going,” he said.
“I’ve seen players come out with worse injuries and in the end they came out on top and they’re playing again and scoring goals in every league they play in. Injuries are just an integral part of the sport.”
In 2016, former Queens Park Rangers manager Chris Ramsey spoke about how he’d experienced depression from the long-term injuries he’d sustained in his own playing career.
“I’ve had seven knee surgeries and three back surgeries and I was probably depressed for years,” he told the Guardian.
“People don’t realize that if you have a long-term injury, you go into depression, no matter how mild.”
And football mental health expert and ex-pro Kevin George told Sky Sports in August last year that “players can emotionally accommodate trauma from an injury they haven’t dealt with”.
“Your whole life becomes an anchor for the trauma,” he said.
“Your schedule is changing from a team schedule to an individual schedule. With no time to adjust, their physical environment creates a sense of loneliness.
Her interactions with others change as teammates, friends, and the press refer to her as her injury. What separates them from others is their trauma, which leads to further isolation.
This is trauma with a lot of time to think while feeling alone and distorting reality in a huge negative way. It’s the birthplace of depression.”
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