Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite says that he considered giving up on football when he missed 18 months with tendonitis as a teenager and credits his parents’ encouragement to persist as saving his career.
Branthwaite was called up to Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the friendlies against Brazil and Belgium after enjoying an excellent season so far with his club.
But speaking at St George’s Park on Wednesday afternoon, Branthwaite revealed how he feared he would have to give up on the game during a long-term knee problem in his teens.
Carlisle United, Branthwaite’s boyhood club, offered him a four-week trial to see if he was fit enough to earn a scholarship. But Branthwaite proved his fitness, and soon after that he earned a professional contract, then broke into the first team in League Two, and then was sold to Everton in January 2020.
“I had tendonitis in my knee,” Branthwaite said. “I was out for 18 months, I couldn’t run, that was when I was 15. So [Carlisle] were not going to give me a scholarship. They gave me a four-week trial period to basically see if I wanted it enough.”
But Branthwaite had his doubts after the lay-off whether the four-week trial would be right for him.
“If it wasn’t for my mam and dad, I probably wouldn’t have carried on,” Branthwaite said. “In my mind, I was thinking ‘if they don’t want me now, what’s four weeks going to do?’.
“But my dad gave me a training programme, and I stuck to that, and it helped me get a scholarship. Then within two, three months I was given my first professional contract.”
It was a difficult time for the teenage Branthwaite who had only ever wanted to play football.
“At school, I couldn’t participate in any of the sports,” he said. “It was a long period of time where I just couldn’t do anything sport-wise. And for someone who likes to participate in every sport, you can imagine what that’s like. So it was a difficult time. But I think that’s made me stronger as a person.”
Branthwaite admits he did not have anything planned as a teenager if he did have to give up the game he loved.
“I didn’t have anything planned out,” he said. “All I wanted to do when I was young was football, football, football. And [the tendonitis] happened. I didn’t know where to be, and then that’s why my dad stepped in and basically said, come on, and I’ve done the four week [trial].”
So Branthwaite feels especially grateful to his parents for pushing him through the trial that earned his Carlisle scholarship, for setting up his career that is still on the rise.
“My dad wanted me to give it everything, and not just stop at the first hurdle. If it wasn’t for him doing that I probably would have stopped at the first hurdle and I wouldn’t be where I am today. So I’ve got him to thank with my mum for that.”
(Michael Regan/Getty Images)
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