‘I should’ve said something’ - Ched Evans opens up on remarkable road to Preston North End recovery

It is no real coincidence that the serious medical condition suffered by Ched Evans is most common in rugby players. He is a footballer who plays the game thoroughly on the edge, only for two years that drop was far closer than anyone knew. Preston North End’s striker is now blessed to be back on the football pitch after seven long, fearful months, but he still remembers vividly the first warning signs coming his way.

“It was at Fleetwood, in the FA Cup against Hull,” Evans told the Lancashire Post. “In the first few minutes I got elbowed in the neck and passed out. I lost all feeling my arms and top half of my body. They took me to hospital, but it was a three hour wait because of Covid, so I just asked the ambulance to take me back to the game - which they were reluctant to do, but did. I got a scan after it and it showed wear and tear, but that was the first time it happened. And then it happened again and again and became more frequent towards the end.

“We (Preston) played Coventry before the Rotherham game and I got hit in the back and passed out. As I came back around, I just carried on but then got hit in the neck against Rotherham and blacked out again. I think the fact I didn’t say anything was stupid on my behalf, but it was just that mentality of wanting to keep going. The surgeon asked me when I thought I would call it a day and I just said: ‘until my body gives up’. He just said he thought that was now, but like I say it was just the desire to play football and win, which outweighed the fear of something serious happening - which is crazy. But, I have dedicated my life to this and I love it. Going forward, if I feel something or do get knocked out, then I need to say something.”

Evans sat down with in-house media recently for an extended, open interview about his condition and road to recovery. The number nine’s odds of playing football again looked incredibly thin, but there was no doubt in the striker’s mind once he knew the chance was there. Evans’ every day life was limited greatly, with him unable to pick the kettle up and do basic tasks around the house for two months. It’s a chapter of his life which required him to show resilience. There was even one day when Evans thought he had trained with the team at Euxton, when he hadn’t done a thing.

“I remember having the Rotherham game and we got the coach home,” said Evans. “I didn’t feel right. I think we were off the next day. I was on the phone to one of my friends and I couldn’t remember the baby’s name. I was just racking my head then came into training, sat in the changing room, walked round, got in my car and left. Jacko rang me to ask where I was and I said I was going home. But, obviously that was concussion and probably the second time, within ten days, that I’d had it. It could’ve been the third or fourth time, because it had happened in training.

“My son hit me with a pillow at home once and it knocked me out. He just hit me on the back of the head, messing about and that’s how serious it must’ve been. But yeah, the side effects of what’d happened were severe and I should’ve said something. The biggest fear of the whole surgery was not doing anything for eight weeks; not the possibility of paralysis or death. I had to get out of bed a certain way and all kinds of stuff. That was scary. I think it just had to be a mental change from me, because I am active and struggle to sit still. So, doing nothing and not lifting anything was scary. But yeah, I did it... and like I say I could’ve only done it with my family around me.”

On the pitch, Evans was playing under exceptionally unique and vulnerable circumstances. One knock to the wrong part of his body could’ve been disastrous, but luck was on the number nine’s side with action eventually taken. PNE’s top scorer from last season now hopes to carry on where he left off in that regard, at a club he has the utmost apprecation for. His running style has changed slightly and Evans’ all-round game will be less challenging, having previously been unable to see the ball when looking upwards.

“Yeah, the way I would jump would be to try and protect myself,” said Evans. “But, with the random way football is, things happen. The way it happened at Rotherham was me getting hit in the back of the neck and then just a little, cushioned header which was so inconspicuous. The ball was about 10 foot in the air and I just tried to cushion it, but that slight compression of looking up and it hitting me there, was enough. Even going back to our holiday in the summer, I was just trying to do headers with my son in the pool and I couldn’t. But yeah, I’m all in a different spot now, so it’s good. You can’t envisage what has just happened. I’ve fallen back in love with football and I love coming into work and playing games. We’re a really good team and getting that winning feeling back, with the lads, is going to be special.”

The 34-year-old has a new lease of life and no longer needs his mother-in-law, or wife, to make him cups of tea. He is grateful to have normality back in his every day routine, but it’s on the field of play where he’s desperate to contribute again. Evans feels slightly different as a footballer but doesn’t envisage his all-action style changing a great deal. The centre-forward can’t wait to hit the back of the net again in Preston colours, but his approach will be to take things one step at a time.

“I think, for me, it is just getting that confidence back,” said Evans. “I can take the hits, without the fear. But yeah, I feel sharper. I struggled to eat for eight weeks after the surgery, so I lost a bit of weight and I’ve not managed to put that back on - which is good, because I’m lighter. It’s about getting through to the next step but I feel like, once I’m relatively match fit and I get going again, I’m in the best shape of my life. Obviously, as a striker, getting that first goal will be special. When it comes... hopefully (on Saturday) but I am not going to put too much pressure on myself to be desperate for it. I’ve found, throughout my career, that if I do that then it just doesn’t happen. I will keep playing how I play, and the goals will come.”