Matt Murray has revealed some of the difficulties he faced with injuries during his career with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Speaking exclusively to This is Futbol, the retired stopper opened up on what it was like to deal with injuries during his time with the Molineux club.
“Dealing with disappointment, unfortunately, for me, that was a very recurring theme in my career and it was hard because I felt life wasn’t fair,” Murray told This is Futbol.
“I didn’t go out drinking, I worked really hard in the gym but I couldn’t stay fit and I had to go and get a lot of help with that and the mental side of it because you felt embarrassed because you’re injured again.
“It’s what your identity was, it was playing and doing your stuff.”
The now-39-year-old former goalkeeper made the decision to retire in the summer of 2010 after a long battle with injury issues (per BBC).
During his career with the Old Gold, the ‘keeper made 100 first-team appearances for Wolves and he played a key role in the club being promoted to the Premier League in 2003.
At the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, then known as the Millennium Stadium, Murray pulled off a penalty save against Sheffield United in the play-off final as Wolves romped to a 3-0 victory.
Could a prime Matt Murray feature in Wolves' current squad?
Yes, he was quality
No, not quite unfortunately
Murray continued: “You projected about all the things that could go wrong – you know, not getting a new contract; your mind could really, really run away with itself.
“It was the last injury that I had that I really, really struggled.
“So, I went and saw a psychologist, we went through it and then we just chatted and said, ‘Well, Matt, is there more to you than being a professional footballer? Do you think your family, your friends, your children, they only love you because you’re a footballer?’
“So, when you start taking the emotion out of it, stripping it back, then stop projecting what people are doing but also starting putting plans in place about how you’re going to deal with it. Then, if you do have to retire, can you cope with that scenario?
“Once you know you can cope with it and you put those coping mechanisms in place and talk through it, I think talking about it is massive, then you move on and you have to do that.”
When Murray retired from professional football, he did so following a ruptured patella tendon, and Wolves’ then-manager, Mick McCarthy, claimed he had “fought tooth and nail” to recover from his injuries.
Since his retirement from playing, the former Old Gold stopper has gone on to become a ‘highly respected‘ pundit for Sky Sports.