“It was taken away from me” – early retirement still burns for former Charlton and Crystal Palace defender Rhoys Wiggins

BY RICHARD CAWLEY
richard@slpmedia.co.uk

“It was taken away from me”. That one sentence from Rhoys Wiggins tells you plenty about his decision to retire at the age of 30.

And the former Crystal Palace and Charlton Athletic defender’s move into sports nutrition since being forced to hang up his boots has only added to his sense of injustice.

Wiggins played more than 200 matches but there is no disputing that injuries were a wrecking ball to his progression.

He was hyped as a left-back of real promise at Palace but needed knee surgery, while still a teenager, just as he looked set to break into Peter Taylor’s squad.

The brutal setbacks kept on coming.

Wiggins was a virtual ever-present in the Charlton side which steamrollered their way to the League One title in 2012 and was named in the PFA’s Team of the Year for that division.

But then came three foot injuries which disrupted his availability in the Championship.

Another sickening knee injury while on loan at Birmingham in October 2016 – including tearing his hamstring off the bone – was to be the final straw.

“The reason I went into nutrition was because I had so many injuries through my career that I was wondering, at the end, if there were any other answers other than just unlucky,” Wiggins told the South London Press.

“I looked into it and found out I was fuelling myself inadequately. I had three re-occurring stress fractures and since learning about nutrition I know there is a concept called low energy availability, which is where you don’t provide enough calories for your body’s needs. Short-term low energy availability may increase markers of bone resorption and decrease markers of bone formation, increasing the risk of stress fractures.

“It means I could have not been fuelling myself properly for the demands of football.

“When you do high-intensity exercise then sometimes your appetite can be supressed, you don’t really fancy eating. You’ve got a window of opportunity, especially for carbohydrates after exercise, where restoring your carbohydrate stores post exercise, is increased compared to delayed feeding.

“It wasn’t not eating correctly, just pure supression of appetite. I sometimes wouldn’t fancy eating.

“These are small things that weren’t really picked up on back then. I’m not saying that was all of my problems, but there are definitely elements of nutrition which I could’ve improved.

“It’s why I enjoy going into clubs and helping, where perhaps before it wasn’t available for myself.”

Wiggins did part-time consultancy work for Charlton and Millwall last season, and also does the same with a wellness centre in London. He describes the transition away from playing as “not easy”.

“It makes it sound like I’ve got into the swing of things quite easily and it’s all been quite cushty – but that’s not been the case,” said the former Wales U21 international.

“Even once I’d got the qualifications it was about experience, that wasn’t necessarily there, compared to people who had been doing it a while.

“You’ve also got the difficulty of seeing players you either played against or with still playing week to week or popping up with a goal. It’s difficult to take when you’re looking to establish a new career path.

“It’s a double whammy of trying to set something up while seeing others doing something you’d still love to do. Being truthful, I completely switched off from the game I loved for about  three years. I went from watching every game to watching none and have only just found myself getting back into it and enjoying games on the telly again, as well as looking out for players again.

“With the injuries I had throughout my career I never felt like I got to my full potential.

“I worked really hard to get myself back fit to play that game for Birmingham and then it (playing) was taken away from me again.

“I remember one of the first things I said to my wife, when she came into the physio room immediately after the injury, was I can’t do this anymore. But the truth is, I would if I could.

“I speak to people around me age now, 35, who are coming to the back end of their careers and they notice a big decline in how they feel or how much they have slowed down. I never got to that point, so I don’t know how that feels for them. It got taken away from me, rather than it being of my own accord – that is what makes it 10 times worse. You get to the end of it and you’re left with more what-ifs rather than someone who knows they did everything they possibly could.

“But I’m in a good position now and enjoying my new role.”

Wiggins has got a masters degree in sports and exercise nutrition.

He has not completely ruled out coaching but the after-effects from his injuries could impact that.

“I’ve never been the most vocal of people but with my knee, and the way it ended, I’m not the most mobile,” he said. “I wouldn’t be able to kick a ball. I really struggle with any running aspect, I can’t change direction. So when it comes to coaching and giving demos, it’s not really possible from myself.

“I can do a jog but I feel the effects for some time after, so I choose not to. I keep active and I swim a lot because it is not weight-bearing.

“I saw out my contract, retired and then rehabilitation just completely stopped. Since then I’ve left the club, gone back home and not really had any professional input or help to get to a certain level where it is possible.

“I’m not blaming the club, by any means. I’m sure if I lived near to Bournemouth they’d have me in, in a heartbeat, to have some treatment. It’s just the distance between where I live, in Buckinghamshire, and Bournemouth is too big to keep going down there. I’m left with a half-rehabilitated knee, really.”

Wiggins can still clearly remember the ACL injury he did while at Palace.

“We went out to the States for pre-season and the cruciate stopped me in my tracks,” he said. “The rehab from that was spot on.

“I came back from it and felt fit and strong, probably fitter than I ever felt, and then I picked up an ankle injury, in pre-season again, which knocked me for six because I spent a long time out with that as well. Palace had a few changes of manager and their money problems at the time. Because I’d picked up a lot of injuries it felt like a case of ‘oh, Rhoysy is injured again’.”

Wiggins underwent a procedure behind the kneecap and that had a long-lasting knock-on effect to him returning to his peak.

“Looking back at this procedure, I wish I’d never had it done. It never felt the same again and affected me day to day, it still does.

“Gary Issott (Palace academy director) was one of the few people to phone me when I announced I was retiring,” said Wiggins. “I hadn’t spoken to him since leaving the youth team but he picked up the phone. I appreciate Gary, a lot.

“I probably shouldn’t say it, because of Charlton, but I’ve got a lot of fond memories from there. I still speak to people that I grew up with in the youth team.

“I can’t speak highly enough of Palace. It’s just a shame I didn’t get more appearances there or really get started.”

While the switch to Charlton delivered silverware, Wiggins’ comments again underline an appetite to have tested himself at the highest level.

“The title-winning squad was the best one I was involved in, in terms of the togetherness,” he said. “We were all of a fairly similar age as well. The closeness of the team was exceptional.

“But I’ve said it before, and I still feel that way now, that winning League One doesn’t feel like the pinnacle. I still celebrated it and really enjoyed it but there are a number of teams ahead of you. The pinnacle would be getting to the Premier League and establishing yourself as a household name, being a top player.

“That’s not to discredit what anyone achieves in the lower leagues, it’s just how I would look at it. I suppose it is because I always felt, without blowing my own trumpet, that I could’ve achieved a lot more.

“It’s easy to say but I feel I could have played a lot higher. When I was fit and healthy in the Championship, I felt quite comfortable. It’s just a shame that I never got a good run of games when we finally got there.

“I broke three metatarsals in something like the fifth game into that first season in the Championship. Then I spent five to six months out again.”

It’s why Wiggins is passionate about clubs addressing pay discrepancies to ensure the correct quality of staffing for young players to get the best medical care and support. There is huge investment in establishing academies, but equally key is surrounding them with the infrastructure which helps emerging talent – assets that are often long-term projects – deliver to their max.

“It’s a results-based game so once you are out injured for a long period of time then you are put on the back burner,” said Wiggins. “It’s not right that you are but especially clubs who haven’t got the resources of three or four physios, then you kind of get forgotten about.

“That was my case at Palace. I was only a young lad. There were far bigger concerns going on and I accept that, it’s the way football is. People’s jobs and livelihoods are on the line.”