Goldson is banking on loan stars
Ibrox ace nearly missed crucial heart check-up to play computer game
CONNOR GOLDSON has urged Steven Gerrard to secure new loan deals for Ryan Kent and Joe Worrall to help make Rangers a force next season. Goldson believes that holding on to the English pair and bringing in some top-class signings can turn the Ibrox men into winners again after a season set to finish without silverware. The
RANGERS’ most recent visit to Celtic Park might ultimately have ended in bitter disappointment but, for Connor Goldson, it offered a moment of clarity when he felt lucky to be alive.
It was exactly two years previously — on March 31, 2017 — that the Englishman underwent two hours of lifesaving heart surgery after it was discovered he had an enlarged aorta.
An Old Firm derby falling on the second anniversary of the operation provided an appropriate reminder of how fortunate he has been.
Not only in terms of playing top-level football with a club he has rapidly grown to love. But also in simply having the good health to be able to do so.
The 26-year-old is now happily championing a new initiative by Chest, Heart & Stroke Scotland which is calling on volunteers to join a pioneering project aimed at tackling major health disorders in the country.
Goldson still shudders to think that he was once openly opposed to having his heart checked because it would mean missing out on joining his Brighton team-mates for a highly-competitive game of Call
of Duty. He had to be virtually dragged away from the computer screen to fulfil the short consultation.
But the results, while initially frightening, had a positive effect. Although there was a history of heart trouble within his family, the centreback had not felt any symptoms that may have suggested there was something seriously wrong.
‘We still don’t know to this day what caused the problem in the first place — whether the aorta was growing or not,’ he reflected.
‘It’s in the family. My dad had a heart attack when he was in his late 30s and his dad died of a heart attack. So I was always wary of it and that there might be something wrong with me.
‘When the physio asked me to go and get it tested I didn’t want to go. I was supposed to be playing Call of Duty with the boys. So I wanted to go home and play and I told the physio I didn’t really want to go.
‘He said: “Look, it’s costing the club £1,500 and it’s only half an hour, just go”. So I went and I got the results two days later.
‘It was emotional. I went to see the specialist in London with the club doctor and broke down in front of him.
‘I remember thinking: “I’m 24 years old, I’m not a boy”, and I
don’t think he could relate to me on that level as he had never seen me emotional.
‘It was hard because you don’t really want to show that side to someone you don’t really know well. I just remember being in the back of his car in tears. Once I got home to the people close to me — my partner and my mum and dad — I felt better.
‘There had been no physical signs. I hadn’t had any problems before in my life and when you’re a footballer you never think it’s going to happen to you.
‘You are working daily in training and playing matches since leaving school at 16 and, all of a sudden, something like that comes along.’
Goldson’s emotions swung to the opposite end of the spectrum when informed he could be back on a training pitch within two months of the procedure.
‘The specialist told me I would have to see the surgeon as he would know more,’ he said. ‘He told me right away I would play football again — as early as six to eight weeks — so I feel fortunate. I didn’t know if that was going to be accurate or not but I trusted him as he is the only person that does this operation in London.
‘A few days earlier I was in pieces wondering if I would ever play again, then I came out of that meeting bouncing around.
‘He was right. I had my operation on March 31 and I was back for pre-season with Brighton on July 1.’
The recent anniversary was noted. An extremely competitive player — and a leader within Steven Gerrard’s Rangers squad — Goldson still hungers for success. But he knows there are other, more fundamental, factors to life.
‘Two years to the day of my operation I was playing in the Old Firm game in front of 60,000 fans, so it puts things in perspective,’ admitted Goldson.
‘Football isn’t more important than life or death. I’m one of the sorest losers in our changing room, I hate losing. But when you go through something — or someone in your family does — it puts things into perspective.
‘I’ve played nearly 50 games this season so I feel happy every day. Sometimes I take things for granted, maybe after playing three games a week and feeling a bit tired.
‘And then I see the picture of me with the big plaster over my chest after the operation and I realise what’s important.’
Indeed, Goldson feels his own situation pales alongside some of the trials his team-mates at Rangers have endured.
‘Mention the word “heart” in football and it rings alarm bells but there are other people worse off than me,’ he argued.
‘Look at Jamie Murphy, who has been out for nine months after a knee operation... I’m fortunate.’