Dad attitude helped me through my crock agony
James McCarthy reveals the strength he has drawn from his cancer-suffering father Willie as the Crystal Palace midfielder’s comeback from an agonising double leg break reaches a key stage
JAMES McCARTHY needed his headmaster’s permission to launch his career. Now he needs Roy Hodgson’s to relaunch it.
Forgotten man McCarthy started his first Premier League game in almost two years last month for Crystal Palace against West Ham.
Weaker men might never have made it back at all after the horrific double leg break McCarthy suffered blocking a shot from Salomon Rondon in January 2018.
But the Republic of Ireland midfielder gets his fighting spirit from dad Willie, who has battled cancer for years, and he now has a son of his own to help put things in perspective.
McCarthy needed a note from the Headmaster at St Margaret Mary’s Secondary School in Glasgow to be allowed to make his debut for Hamilton at 15.
Now he hopes to get the nod against Leicester tomorrow as he looks to resurrect his career after a £3million summer move from Everton.
McCarthy said: “I was a kid then but I didn’t have to beg him. The club went to the school, everything was fine.
“Suddenly I was playing first-team football! It was a real eye-opener but I had good people around me, good family. No one let my feet get off the ground.
“My Dad’s still getting his treatment, it’s ongoing. He’s made me a fighter, he’s strong. When I was in the dark days, he was always there to say I would get through it.
“There were dark times.
For six weeks after the injury I could barely get out of bed. It was a long road back but my dad’s strong character helped.
“I’ve seen what he’s been through all these years and he’s still so positive.
“Now I’ve got a little boy. There’s nothing better than having a son – a wee boy, only seven months old.
“That changes you. You want to make sure everything’s good. It’s been a long time trying to get back. It took a wee while. But things look more positive now.
“It was a nice feeling starting that game, being back out on the pitch. Obviously you want to build on that, get more consistent.”
McCarthy’s injury was so horrific that Rondon, then of