“I wouldn’t say that night ruined my career, but it definitely changed it.”
Former Liverpool defender Andre Wisdom was returning to Merseyside three years after his departure from the club when he was stabbed in the street. Wisdom, now 32, played 22 times for the club but has since dropped down to the seventh tier of English football.
Now plying his trade for FC United of Manchester, Wisdom has spoken at length on that fateful night and how five years on, he is still dealing with the consequences. “Who knows where I’d be playing today had I not been stabbed,” Wisdom told the BBC.
The former England Under-21 captain had been leaving a house party in the early hours of morning, during a time when COVID-19 lockdown restrictions were in place and pubs and restaurants were closed.
On June 28, 2020, Wisdom was attacked by several masked men who stole his designer watch and stabbed him.
“I shouldn’t have been there,” he said about the house party. Only hours earlier, he had played for Wayne Rooney’s Derby and helped them to a 2-1 win over Reading.
“I should have been at home recovering after the game, but it was lockdown and I was eager to be outside,” he explained.
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“I was leaving the party by myself, walking to my car. I was on the street and there were about five guys, balaclavas and knives. They said: ‘Give us your watch.’ I said no and a fight started.
“I didn’t have time to run. I should have used my head but pride got in the way. Loads of people came out of the party after about five minutes of fighting. The attackers ran off and I was left covered in blood on the street. Everything happened really quickly.
“I was able to drive home, which was about a 15-20 minute journey. Adrenalin probably kept me going but only when I was home did I realise I’d been stabbed multiple times. I checked my thigh and the muscle was almost hanging out of the wound. That’s when I phoned for an ambulance.”
In addition to his thigh, Wisdom was also stabbed in the head, chest and buttocks.
Somehow, just three months later, Wisdom was back on the pitch for Derby. But he knew that his life would never be the same.
“My body just wasn’t the same,” he added. “It was frustrating. I wasn’t getting the same output in power and speed. I came back too soon. I was too eager, I wanted to be back in a football environment.
“I think that was me dealing with the emotion. I didn’t want to sit at home and replay all the things that happened.”
Wisdom left Derby when his contract expired the following year and struggled to remain a professional footballer, stepping down to Warrington Town and Derry City before joining FC United of Manchester – a team owned by its fans and Manchester United legend Eric Cantona.
“I’m a fan of football, it doesn’t matter to me what level I’m playing at,” Wisdom concluded. “I’m just grateful I’m still able to play.”