I CLOT LUCKY
Josh at his best again after scare
GRIMSBY defender Josh Emmanuel recalled the mystery illness that could have cost him so much more than just his career.
Thankfully, the Mariners ace, 25, is now fighting fit and healthy again, and cannot wait to test himself against Kaoru Mitoma this afternoon as the League Two minnows take on Brighton in the FA Cup quarter-final.
But as excited as he is about today’s game, there will of course be a sense of perspective whatever the outcome after he missed more than a year of football because of the blood clot which caused him to collapse during a training session with his old club Hull.
“November 18, 2021 … it feels like a lifetime ago now,” said Emmanuel, who hasn’t before revealed the specifics of the issue that kept him out of the game until last month.
“I woke up like any other day but, during the warm-up, I was just thinking, ‘OK, this is a bit more intense than normal.’
“But then I knew there was a problem when I couldn’t really get my words out, and I took a step back and must have sat down on the ground – that’s when things started happening.
“I tried to get back up but couldn’t move the left side of my body.
“People were saying, ‘Calm down,’ but I just wanted to get back to the warm-up.
“When the medical staff at Hull – to whom I’ll be eternally grateful – came and assisted me, that was when I knew, ‘OK, this is what is going on.’
“Straight after it happened, I wanted to play on the Saturday and I was getting a bit angry with the doctor when she said I couldn’t.
“Then a couple of days later I was hearing I might never play again, which thank God wasn’t the case.
“Since then, it has been an interesting 18 months because I could function like normal.
“I was on medication – Warfarin, quite a low dosage – but because it’s a blood thinner I wasn’t able to play.
“I stopped taking it in October 2022, though, and thankfully I passed another check recently so they are going to check me every year now.
“We never got to the bottom of why I had the clot, it was very random and
by TOM HOPKINSON
I’m just grateful I’ve recovered.”
Grateful, too, to Grimsby, who have signed Emmanuel until the end of the season.
He added: “I’m very grateful to Paul Hurst, Chris Doig and the club in general.
“I knew I needed to play games and I’m getting back to the level I was at before the clot.”
Emmanuel knows the level required today will be huge.
But he said: “We’re all humans, none of them are Superman.
“I’ve played against Solly March, he’s a tough test, but I’m looking forward to facing Mitoma and challenging myself against him, he’s in form right now.”
While Emmanuel’s focus is on Grimsby, he is also working hard behind the scenes to set up a charity to help others who have suffered similarly to himself.
He added: “I’ve been building up a charity – Back & Better – that is on its way and will help people who don’t have visible injuries.
“It’s a lot of work but it will definitely be worth it.”