SHANE DUFFY SAYS the two years he has had since suffering a freak injury have shaped him as a footballer.
The Everton defender had to undergo emergency surgery after rupturing the blood supply to his liver during an Ireland training camp back in 2010.
Duffy collided with opposing goalkeeper Adrian Walsh as a development side took on the Irish amateurs team and had to be rushed to the Mater hospital to go under the knife.
However, nearly two years on, the 20 year-old is in line to make his senior debut against the Czech Republic tomorrow evening after getting a late call-up to the squad to replace the injured Richard Dunne.
“I always hoped that I could still play football after, and I still did,” Duffy said, reflecting on the life-threatening incident, in The Daily Mail. ”I believed in myself.
“That’s two years ago and I don’t really like talking about it because it’s a low point in my career.
But it has made me stronger and more mature. Hopefully it will never happen to anyone again.”
The Derry native began the season on loan at League One outfit Scunthorpe but having made 19 appearances for the the Iron, he returned to Everton and has enjoyed a run in David Moyes’ first team in the past month.
He has been training with Giovanni Trapattoni’s squad this week and is likely to play some part in tomorrow’s game according to the Italian manager.
