The former Sunderland player has returned to football following two life-threatening head injuries.
Patrick Almond, a former Sunderland player, has resumed playing football after suffering two potentially fatal brain injuries.
Almond, a Wallsend Boy’s Club alum, was enlisted by Sunderland when he was a young child and attended the club for eight years.
In 2021, the central defender made his professional debut at the Stadium of Light in the Papa John’s Trophy against the under-23 team of Manchester United.
The next summer, Almond left Sunderland and was involved in a car accident in Manchester that left him with severe, potentially fatal head injuries.
Pauses at minor league In the National League North, Shildon signed Almond before Darlington did. Nevertheless, the footballer suffered another potentially fatal head injury whilst representing the Quakers against Southend United.
A GoFundMe campaign was created in the wake of the tragedy, and it raised an incredible £13,652 with help from players Isaac Hayden, David Stockdale, and Ellis Taylor in addition to £1,000 from Sunderland AFC and Maurice Louis-Dreyfus.
Almond fully recovered from the accident, but he acknowledged in a June exclusive interview with The Echo that he might never play football again with his father, Kevin Almond.
Almond, though, is currently playing for Whitley Bay FC, a non-league team, and he was a part of last weekend’s 2-1 victory over Northallerton Town.
Almond started the game with number five on his back and played 90 minutes as Whitley Bay won in the Ebac Northern League.
“It was really unbelievable,” Paddy stated when asked about the support and financial aid from the world of football by The Echo earlier this year. “I didn’t expect anything near that. You can’t describe it.
“I didn’t really know too much about it until after two or three days in hospital and then my dad mentioned it. It was a massive shock. The more you look into it and see the people who have donated, you can’t thank them enough for the support, for everything, it was unbelievable.
“Sitting in hospital for three weeks is not a nice place to be but seeing all of the support coming in and the messages is what I needed to get through it. It really helped me.”
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