AFTERTHE TUMOUR... YOU JUST DON’T KNOW. THAT’S FRIGHTENING
Former Liverpool defender Jose Enrique opens up on his traumatic cancer battle
EVERY Liverpool fan will have their own tales of their journey to Saturday’s Champions League final but none will be more dramatic than Jose Enrique’s.
Sat in his Valencia home, with his Pomeranian dog Simba bouncing playfully around the sofa, the former Liverpool defender tells the story.
‘The doctor sat down with me and said: “Don’t be frightened by the word I’m going to say, because everyone thinks it means that you have it all over your body and you are going to die”,’ he says, recalling events last May when he went to hospital after a severe headache that had him seeing double.
The word he is referring to is still one he prefers not to utter. ‘Don’t worry, it’s canc...’ he says, recalling the doctor’s words but stopping short on the final syllable. ‘“It’s malignant but localized and unlikely to spread. Stay calm, you’ll have an operation”.’
It was a one-in-a-million rare cancer that needed brain surgery and after consulting medical friends in football he located a top neurosurgeon, Dr Juan Antonio Simal, in Valencia.
A month later he was having the eight-hour operation, with the tumour reached via the nasal passages.
‘When they take it out you don’t know if you are going to be the same as before,’ he says. ‘That frightened me. I’m there aged 32 years and pfffff! What if I end up without a nose or an eye?’
Enrique says he never would have coped without his Boltonborn partner, Amy: ‘She helped me so much because she was so positive.’
The battle wasn’t over after surgery, either. He needed the extremely accurate but highly expensive proton therapy in Paris to eliminate the possibility of any lingering cancerous cells. He has since been given the all-clear.
THE 33- year-old describes being masked and strapped to the bed, making it impossible for the head to move as the £115million machine directs its radiotherapy beam.
‘ It’s an oppressive, stifling sensation,’ he says. ‘And it’s a big machine. I’d try not to look at it as I entered the room. You don’t feel anything at the time but they’re radiating your head after all and there are side effects — my right ear blocked and I couldn’t hear properly for a couple of months.’
While in Paris having that radiation treatment, he visited Jurgen Klopp and the Liverpool players ahead of their game with Paris Saint- Germain last November.
‘I was there for training and went to see them in the hotel,’ he recalls. ‘They were great with me, Kenny Dalglish, Klopp and even players I don’t know, Virgil van Dijk and Andy Robertson, came to say hello.’
He watched the semi-final first leg at Barcelona up in the gods of the Nou Camp with the Liverpool fans. And he will be at the Metropolitano stadium this weekend to see if they can lift the trophy.
Enrique will then fly to Hong Kong for a Liverpool Legends match, his first game since he
was told he was ill. Asked if he will be allowed to head the ball in the game he laughs. ‘The doctor has told me it’s OK but if I can avoid it I will,’ he says. ‘I avoided it when possible as a player because I was terrible at heading — I’m not going to change now.’
There is a strong bond with Liverpool. ‘ When I was at Newcastle they also treated me really well, but by the time I went to Liverpool I spoke perfect English, so you connect better,’ he says.
He is still in touch with people at the club and there is huge respect for Klopp, who made sure he captained the side before he left. ‘He was going to give me the armband in a cup game against Exeter,’ says Enrique.
‘But he told me: “Would you mind if I gave it to Christian Benteke? He’s struggling and it will give him confidence”. I said fine, even though it might be the only chance I’d get!’
The game ended 2-2 and he wore the armband in the replay. ‘I didn’t play much under Klopp but I can only say good things,’ adds Enrique.
‘He’s honest. When I didn’t play I asked him why and he said: “I don’t think you’re 100 per cent”. I prefer that to a manager saying: “You’ll get a chance later on”.
Enrique watched the secondleg comeback against Barcelona at home. ‘I thought it was impossible but at 2-0 I said: “They are eating them alive”. The Liverpool fans were something else.’
He watched the first leg with the fans courtesy of Liverpool full back Alberto Moreno organising the tickets. Never again!
‘The fans treated me so well,’ he says. ‘They weren’t all over me but they sang to me, shook my hand and asked how I was.’
It made up for the vantage point. ‘You get a lovely view of the city up there,’ he says, ‘but the pitch is a long way away.
‘Alberto doesn’t speak any English and I said: “That’s your problem, you haven’t got a bloody clue what anyone’s saying!” It was great, but put me somewhere I can see it properly!’
‘I’ve not asked Alberto to sort out our final tickets.’
Enrique has to get up twice during the hourlong chat to spit. He is unnecessarily apologetic about it — a build-up of phlegm is a result of the surgery.
Tear- duct damage means he can’t cry and he carries drops for when his eyes get dry. He cannot swim underwater due to the pressure it would create inside his head. There are psychological scars, too. He’s happy to discuss ongoing psychological help.
So what is the secret of coping with the never- ending anxious thoughts that follow such a massive scare? ‘When I work that out, I will let you know,’ he laughs. ‘The psychologist gives me pointers — if you’re fixated on what’s going on inside your body, try to concentrate on the breeze or the birds.’
He also has a sense of how lucky he is. He turned down extra assistance that would have covered his living costs in Paris.
‘I’d rather it was spent on other people,’ he says. ‘There was one girl from Newcastle with her three children in an apartment the size of this room. I’m in a great apartment and have visits from friends and family. I can’t complain.
‘When I retired in 2017 I went through a bad time,’ he says. ‘Then this. I miss playing but things have been put in perspective. Sadly, I had to retire early (due to a knee injury) but this helped me see it is not so important. I’m focusing on staying well.’
And football is still there. He will be a fan on Saturday and a player again on June 8 in Hong Kong.
‘It will be great to wear a Liverpool shirt again,’ says Enrique. ‘I’ll enjoy it, for sure.’