Deeney: I spent four days on a ventilator
FORMER Watford striker Troy Deeney has revealed that he spent four days in hospital on a ventilator, suffering from Covid-19, in the spring of last year.
Following Project Restart in June 2020, Deeney, 33, did not report to training with Watford for two weeks and he has now admitted it was over concerns for his safety.
The forward faced a backlash from the media over his actions and was branded ‘greedy’ as it was claimed he only wanted to ‘protect his own pay packet and have another year as a Premier League player’.
But Deeney has now revealed he had been seriously ill with the virus before lockdown and was concerned for his own health and safety.
‘I was told my reluctance to return to training was because of personal greed,’ Deeney said. ‘That’s always the way with footballers. We’re always greedy. There’s rarely any consideration that we’re human beings with the same issues as anyone else.
‘I am double-jabbed now and I feel far safer.’
Deeney is now playing for Birmingham City after 11 years with the Hornets and admits the measures in the Championship, including testing three times a week, and an even stricter regime in the Premier League, have eased his worries.
But he insists he has no qualms about having been sceptical and demanding the full facts before Project Restart began on June 17 last year.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that 25 per cent of EFL footballers have no intention of getting vaccinated and the Englishman claimed he was not surprised by the figure.
But he believed the figures for vaccine hesitancy in football reflect those in wider society and said he did not understand why footballers ‘always have to be at the forefront of every debate’.
He also did not understand why footballers were expected to return to work after the first wave before most people and donate significant chunks of their salary to the NHS.
Deeney revealed the discussion over vaccines is brought up often in dressing rooms and can sometimes lead to heated debates.
Some players believe they are so fit and healthy they are invincible and don’t need the vaccine, while others have been influenced by conspiracy theories, Deeney said.
But he insisted that those players who choose not to get the vaccine should not be ostracised by the rest of the squad.
‘I think we’re getting mixed messages from the Prime Minister when it comes to Covid,’ he said. ‘I’d rather listen to the scientists, who make a lot more sense. I’m doublejabbed and I think it’s the right thing to do. But I also think we should respect personal choice.’
The Premier League has been thrust into turmoil as a surge in Covid cases among the top-flight clubs has led to half of this weekend’s fixtures being postponed.
The idea of a circuit break over the festive period has been mooted with a number of Premier League clubs backing the idea.
But Deeney feels there will not be another complete shutdown of the game again and insisted the ‘show must go on’ as ‘Covid is something we are going to have to live with’, though he admitted there needs to be more transparency over the number of players who are positive before a game is called off.