The ex-Bluebird now flying high in France
THERE are few personal success stories as positive as Rhys Healey’s to come out of Cardiff City in recently years.
After six years of loan spells, youth games, injury hell and minimal opportunities in the Welsh capital, Healey’s stock has shot through the roof since leaving the Bluebirds in summer 2019.
When he arrived at Cardiff, following a prolific period in the Cymru Premier with Connah’s Quay Nomads, back in 2013, Healey himself admits he was just a starstruck kid.
Then just 18, Healey, a childhood Manchester City fan, was a huge admirer of Craig Bellamy, who was at Cardiff at the time, of course. So for Healey to replace Bellamy for his debut appearance for the Bluebirds, a 2-1 defeat by Chelsea in May 2014, it was a dream come true.
“When I joined, obviously you had the likes of Craig Bellamy there. I don’t think I ever told him, but all my life I used to watch Man City week in, week out,” he told The Mirror.
“When he was there I used to love him, I used to have his name on the back of my shirt, and every day when he was there at Cardiff I was a bit starstruck.
“Making my debut in the Premier League and replacing him was something special. To this day I still speak about it and when people ask me about my career, that’s the first thing I tell them - playing against Chelsea and replacing Craig Bellamy. It was a dream come true.”
Following fruitful loan stints away with Colchester United, Dundee and Newport County, it was Neil Warnock who brought Healey back into the firstteam fold in January 2017.
The pinnacle of his Bluebirds career probably came when he scored the winner against Burton after replacing Junior Hoilett.
“To get that opportunity and then score the winner against Burton was something I was working for over the five or six years I was at Cardiff before getting my proper taste of it,” he added.
“That was what kick-started the love of me wanting to be in the first-team squad every week and has got me to where I am today.”
However, his steady rise hit the buffers just weeks later when, against Rotherham in the February of 2017, the striker sustained a nasty knee injury which sidelined him for nine months.
With Healey’s career motoring and his stock at its highest, the injury came at the worst point. He recalls it being the lowest moment of his career to date, even believing it could be the end of his playing days.
“It was probably the worst time of my career,” the 26-year-old said. “I thought all the hard work had just been taken away from me.
“I genuinely said to myself, ‘I don’t know if I’ll ever play again.’ When people talk about those injuries, you never think it’ll happen to you.
“I wouldn’t wish it upon anyone, doing your MCL ligaments. It’s a good old injury and at one point I didn’t know if I was going to play again.
“But I had good ex-pros at Cardiff, the medical staff had been through it with players a lot, and I worked extremely hard.”
Through sheer mental fortitude and incredibly hard graft, Healey believes that period of recovery shaped him in the man and player he is today.
Following a successful loan at MK Dons in which he helped to earn them promotion, the club signed him on a permanent deal in the summer of 2019 ready for their League One campaign.
He won Player of the Season for the club that year – meaning over the course of two years there he had amassed 21 goals in 41 games.
Former Liverpool chief Damien Comoli, who is now at Toulouse, caught wind of Healey’s form and sought to take him to France.
He now has 23 goals in 48 games for the Ligue 2 outfit and is one of the hottest strikers in France at the minute.
Toulouse narrowly missed out on promotion to Ligue 1 last term, losing their play-off match with Nantes.
“We have a very young squad but the players here, the quality is second to none and players have gone on to bigger things from here.
“It’s a great club to be at, and hopefully we can carry on our form to get where we want to be.”
Healey has eight goals in 12 league games this season – Ligue 2’s joint-top scorer – with Toulouse currently sitting top of the table. ■ The EFL has confirmed that the start of the 202223 Sky Bet Championship, League One and League Two seasons has been pencilled in for Saturday, July 30.
■ With the 2022 World Cup set to take place in Qatar over a five-week period in November and December, the EFL schedule has been adjusted accordingly. ■ Round 16 of the Championship, which is due to take place on Saturday, November 12, will be the final round of fixtures played before the call-up period of the tournament, which begins two days later.