Simon Collison, an amputee footballer, is celebrating scoring his first goal since losing a leg five years ago after being seriously injured during a military exercise.
Collinson, 41, had his lower right leg amputated below the knee in 2019 after he was seriously injured in an armored vehicle crash two years earlier.
His goal for the Sunday League able-bodied team Feering Village, near Colchester, in Essex last Sunday (August 18) came after he feared he would never play again.
“It felt like I’d won the Champion’s League,” said Collison.
“I’d like to say I got past six players and hit it from 30 yards out but I knocked it in from seven,” he added.
“As soon as I scored, my shirt was off and I was cheering and running around.”
“If I had two legs, I probably would have never mentioned it. But it felt like all my trials and tribulations up to that point had paid off and the story was complete.”
Collinson’s goal put Feering Village two goals up against the friendly pre-season match against Colchester United Supporters Association and they won 3-1.
Sadly the goal, which Collinson put in the back of the net after it was passed to him by a teammate late during the second half, was not recorded as he said: “Nobody was really expecting me to score.”
The father-of-two served in the Household Cavalry in the Armored Reconnaissance Regiment when he was involved in an armored vehicle crash in Canada in 2017.
He decided to have his lower right leg amputated in 2019 to give him the “best quality of life” going forward.
The left wingback said: “I suffered a spinal injury and the whole of my right side was affected.”
“I lost feeling and control in my right leg and I never got it back in my ankle,” stated Collison.
“I made the decision to have the best quality for my future life. Having the prosthetic has given me more freedom.”
Collinson said his prosthetic has been “fantastic” despite being a challenge to get used to and has helped him back into football.
He had initially returned to the game with a team for amputees two years ago but has been playing with the able-bodied Feering Village for the last 18 months.
He explained: “I was playing amputee football before but it was played on crutches and I ended up fracturing my wrist. I couldn’t afford to lose the use of my wrist after everything that had happened.”
“I thought it might mean I’d have to stop playing football again but instead I went to Feering to make some numbers up. It snowballed from there.”
“I used to play football when I was younger and after the incident, I thought I wouldn’t be able to walk again, let alone play football. The whole way through the amputation, playing football has been a goal and an aim of mine to work towards.”
Collinson was released from the army under medical discharge and is now raising his sons George, seven, and Edward, two with his wife Jessica.
His family and teammates saw him score and he said everybody was “absolutely made up”.
The Colchester United fan added: “I’m very lucky I managed to find a club through pure fluke that took a chance on me.”
“Having a situation where I thought I’d never play again, I thought every time on the pitch could have been the last.”
“Being back at grassroots football and playing in a local park with friends, it feels like a dream come true.”
“For others who are facing or have faced amputation, nothing is impossible and whatever you set your mind to, there is a way.”
“Even if you sit there during the first couple of days and think your life is over: it is better to try and fail than fail to try. The first step is always the hardest.”
Produced in association with SWNS Talker
Edited by Priscilla Jepchumba and Judy J. Rotich
