The Scotsman

United effort gets Fletcher back on his feet

Talking about his nightmare condition was first step in Scotland star’s recovery

- Alan Pattullo

Thursday 6 February 2014 THERE have been so many significan­t moments in Darren Fletcher’s recent life that it is difficult to select only a few. But one low point was struggling to focus on television pictures of the England v Scotland clash in August while heavily sedated. He was preparing to undergo surgery he hoped would save a career he had originally planned to relaunch at Wembley.

The attractive idea of making his Scotland return in that game was a “false hope”, he admitted yesterday, just four days after another significan­t milestone – his 30th birthday. The long-awaited comeback was only delayed by the surgical procedure he underwent in late summer to counteract the debilitati­ng effects of ulcerative colitis, an inflammato­ry bowel condition that has robbed Fletcher of nearly two years of his career with Manchester United and Scotland.

“I have a mindset of wanting to make up for lost time,” he noted yesterday, the day after he was added to the United squad issue – there is also, perhaps horrifying­ly for those unaware of how the condition impacts on a sufferer, a loss of blood. “You are so weak that you end up in hospital,” reported Fletcher. “I ended up on an IV drip a couple of times. Those are extreme examples, but it can happen.”

It is tough enough to handle for those not trying to play profession­al football with one of the world’s largest clubs, as Jon McLeish, son of Alex, yesterday confirmed. He, too, suffers from the condition. The 32-year-old, who first met Fletcher at a Scottish Cup final, is the inspiratio­n behind United for Colitis, a new fundraisin­g initiative in aid of the patient charity, Crohn’s and Colitis UK, with a gala dinner planned at Old Trafford next month. McLeish is one of thousands of unknown sufferers – or at least he was.

Fletcher and former England rugby captain Lewis Moody, who also helped launch United for Colitis at the Manchester United Aon training complex at Carrington, are the poster boys for the charity, if there can be such a thing. They have both felt the discomfort of having to open up to team-mates in the ultra-macho environmen­t of the dressing-room. They both yesterday revealed frank details in public about an illness that is so difficult to talk about.

The news about Fletcher’s condition was finally confirmed by United in late 2012. Earlier there had been non-specific mentions of a virus by Sir Alex Ferguson to explain the player’s extended absence from the first team.

“I’ve had so many letters from mums and dads and children about how easy it’s made their life, that they can go to school,” said Fletcher, on the decision to disclose the real reason for his long spells on the sidelines.

“Instead of having to explain ulcerative colitis they can simply say ‘I have the same illness that Darren Fletcher has’. That’s made it so much easier in their lives. I drew inspiratio­n from Lewis and Sir Steve Redgrave [the former Olympic rower is another highprofil­e sufferer]. Hopefully me adding my name to that list can help people.”

Fletcher now wishes he had opened up earlier, but then he was unsure of the prognosis, and what it meant for his career. “I stayed silent until around the end of 2011, 2012 because it’s not something that you generally talk about,” he explained, admitting that he even kept the condition a secret from his teammates. “My close family and friends knew but no-one else knew at the club,” he added.

“I found it difficult making up stories for why I wasn’t at training, or looking ill or why I was rushing off to the bathroom. I found that very difficult, making up stories and basically lying to people’s faces. Once I started talking about it and made it public knowledge it was such a relief. It was the best thing I did.”

Another relief was discoverin­g that football was not aggra- vating the condition. He was so determined to ensure his twin sons, Tyler and Jack, could rely on a father as close to full health as possible that he was prepared to retire from the game. “I stopped playing for six months to see if football and the physical stress of training every day was a reason why I was getting so ill,” he said. “But it turned out I was just as ill when I stopped playing football as I was when I played.

“The biggest thing for me is that it was just a relief when I played football,” he continued. “It didn’t feel like I had ulcerative colitis. For that 90 minutes on the pitch, I felt normal, I felt great. I dealt with ‘issues’ before the game, often right up to kick-off. But, as soon as I got onto the pitch, I never had an issue. It was my release.”

Life has a habit of moving the goalposts. Having made his debut for Scotland when only a teenager, Fletcher once spoke of wishing to emulate Kenny Dalglish by winning over 100 caps for Scotland.

“It’s something would have liked to achieve, but you don’t know if that is going to be possible now,” he conceded ahead of what, fitness and form permitting, will be his 62nd cap against Poland next month. “The biggest thing for me now is playing in a tournament.

“I think that is my biggest aim now. To go with a Scotland squad that goes back into a major tournament is my goal now for the rest of my internatio­nal career, without a shadow of a doubt.” l

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 ?? Pictures: Getty ?? darren Fletcher joins fellow ulcerative colitis sufferer Lewis Moody, the former england rugby player, at yesterday’s charity launch in Manchester. Left, Fletcher’s comeback for Manchester united has come as a huge ‘relief’ for the scotland internatio­nal captain
Pictures: Getty darren Fletcher joins fellow ulcerative colitis sufferer Lewis Moody, the former england rugby player, at yesterday’s charity launch in Manchester. Left, Fletcher’s comeback for Manchester united has come as a huge ‘relief’ for the scotland internatio­nal captain
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