Chelsea legend Petr Cech reveals just how bad his 2006 injury really was
Club legend Petr Cech’s life changed forever on October 14, 2006 when he suffered a serious injury during Chelsea’s match against Reading, which he feared could have far more serious implications than ending his football career.
A collision with forward Stephen Hunt saw him fracture his skull and rushed off to hospital, and was somehow back in action just three weeks later.
Cech’s career certainly had a different look to it after this moment. He donned a protective cap for every game he played following the incident.
Even though there were fears regarding the remainder of his playing career at the time, Cech has actually spoken about the fact he had fears that he wouldn’t be able to function properly again.
He said to Canal+: “I was terribly unlucky that it happened, but at the same time, it was an incredible stroke of luck. It all happened in Reading, a stone’s throw from the neurosurgery clinic in Oxford, considered one of the best in Europe. No, if we were playing on the other side of England, a tragedy could have occurred.
“The proximity of the hospital meant I was quickly put on the operating table. At that stage, there was only one goal: to survive first. The doctors saved my life. The first step was taken, but immediately a second important question arose. Fragments of the fractured skull bone had embedded themselves in my brain. The damage occurred on the left side, where the center for speech and motor coordination is located. My mind was racing with thoughts of whether I would speak normally, whether I would be fully functional.
“When you realise you might be babbling or paralyzed for the rest of your life, you have to pray for a miracle. The beginnings were terrible; my motor skills were failing, my brain wouldn’t cooperate. Small, precise movements. Forget it.
“I was given a board with holes and tiny pegs. I had to grab a peg and put it in the hole. It was the simplest thing in the world, and I couldn’t do it.
“I sat there devastated. If I can’t put a peg in a hole, how am I supposed to run and throw myself at the feet of attackers? For the first three weeks, any exertion longer than 10 minutes knocked me off my feet. I completely lost my memory. I couldn’t remember a single second of the first three days . People would tell me what happened. I’d fall asleep, and when I woke up, it was a blank slate again.”
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After Cech had been between the sticks during Chelsea’s legendary 2004/05 season where they had conceded just 15 Premier League goals, there were fears he was never going to reach those standards again.
However, what followed was three more Premier League golden glove awards, as well as an induction into the league’s Hall of Fame in 2023.
The strength of character the former Czech Republic international showed to bounce back from what could have been a life-threatening incident to establish himself as one of the best goalkeepers in Premier League history is remarkable.
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