Petr Cech discusses club ties on return to Chelsea as advisor
Petr Cech has opened up on how he suffered two broken shoulders during his first two years at Chelsea but played through the pain to win the Premier League on both occasions. The Czech Republic stopper also suffered a life-threatening skull fracture in 2006, but recovered and went on to win a total of 13 major trophies with the Blues.
Cech made 494 appearances for Chelsea during his 11-year spell at Stamford Bridge, with four Premier League titles and a Champions League crown among his standout successes.
But the legendary goalkeeper had a torrid time with injuries during his early seasons in England, most notably when his collision with Reading forward Stephen Hunt left him needing emergency surgery.
Cech has sported easily recognisable head protection since then, but some of his other injuries were less obvious and the modest stopper never revealed the extent to which he struggled in his first two years at Chelsea.
“There was one thing I never talked about, and people didn’t know at the time,” Cech revealed to the official Chelsea website.
Chelsea news: Petr Cech has revealed how he won the Premier League title with two broken shoulders (Image: GETTY)
“Halfway through my first season at Chelsea I broke the labrum in my shoulder. I carried on and finished the season.
“It felt like during the summer it would recover. It didn’t! During the second season I already had a massive problem with my shoulder and I was protecting it. Then, in the first part of my second season, I did exactly the same thing to my other shoulder. So I played my second season with broken shoulders!
“I was trying to get the pain low for the games and find ways to train properly so I didn’t feel the unbelievable pain every day, which was difficult to avoid.
“I thought about having surgery during the second season, but I didn’t want to risk missing the World Cup in Germany that summer. Nobody really knew how long it would take me to come back.
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“To my relief I decided to have the surgery after the World Cup. I came back fast from that and I was enjoying games and not having pain while training and moving. A few games later, we played Reading!”
Cech was sidelined for three months after the collision with Hunt, having required surgery for a depressed skull fracture.
Doctors later said the injury could have been fatal, giving the Chelsea hero a greater appreciation for football once he made his return.
“When you come back from a career-threatening or life-threatening injury, you don’t think about pressure. I just enjoyed every moment," said Cech, who finished his playing career at Arsenal before returning to Chelsea in an advisory role.
Chelsea news: The stopper suffered life-threatening injuries in a collision with Stephen Hunt (Image: GETTY)