What a hero.
Two goals at the Aviva set a fitting lid on Jonathan Walters’ amazing Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, and we didn’t think the big man’s performance against Bosnia could get any better.
Until now.
In an interview with The Sunday Times Walters reveals he was struck down by an ear and throat infection in the run-up to the play-offs.
Did he do the responsible thing, go see his GP and seek medical advise? He did in his shite – he’s Jonathan Walters. He went home, found some antibiotics in a cupboard, horsed them into himself and slept it off.
“I was playing right midfield and it was tough, I was up and down, tracking the full-back.
“But I did get my second wind. Adrenaline gets you through. And caffeine. A lot of caffeine. Before games I tend to have loads of coffee”
Worn out by the physical effort, the emotion and the illness, the 32 year old skipped the post-match celebration party – choosing instead to hang out at the hotel with his wife Jo, their children and more than 40 relatives who he brought along to the game.
Football correspondent for The Sunday Times, Jonathan Northcroft chose Walters as his player of the year, just like SportsJOE’s Conan Doherty, and when the Stoke forward reveals he played with a chronic knee tendon injury for the last two seasons you can see where the spike in form came from.
“For two years I couldn’t walk down the stairs,” he revealed. “During games I’d feel it, so I had to adapt my play. Two years of pain.”
What a hero.
