Mark Mailey on support from the PFA

There are 'good news' stories involving the PFA and its members that would perhaps never be reported by the national media, and one such tale is that of Mark Mailey. The former Sunderland defender is currently at Lilleshall Hall undergoing rehabilitation. Nothing unusual there I hear you cry, but Mailey is a man on a mission.

Due to an unfortunate accident, the 23-year-old lost the use of his left eye and had to retire from the game, but due to the support mechanism provided by the PFA he has been able to get back on his feet and is even hoping to play for England in December.

That is England's visually impaired side but it is still a great achievement for Mailey and as he revealed, the incentive of playing for his country has given him fresh hope. "There was an accident with a pellet gun and I ended up losing the sight in my left eye," said Mailey.  "I haven't really done any fitness work for two-and-a-half years and then Graham Keeley made himself known to me.

"Graham is the manager of England's visually impaired team and having trained with them I know it is a pretty good standard. The World Championships are taking place in December at the Manchester Velodrome and I will have had nine months preparation before they take place."

When the accident happened Mailey was quite obviously at a low ebb as he could see is football career in tatters and wondered what the future held. That was when he turned to the PFA for support and has been delighted with the response he has received.

"The PFA's support has been absolutely invaluable - they have been spot on," continued Mailey.  "They helped me sort out my insurance when the accident happened and have paid for college courses for me since.

"And they have also enabled me to start taking my coaching badges as well as pay for my stint at Lilleshall to try and get fit again."

The 23-year-old is almost starting from scratch again and is thankful to be under the tutelage of some of the country's top physiotherapists in deepest Shropshire.

"It was really hard at first," he confirmed.  "But it is nice to be back in the routine of training every day again.  As long as I can recover a decent level of fitness I should be okay because the levels aren't as high as in professional football.

"Mind you, the physiotherapist's here are working my socks off and I am sure it is harder than when I came before!

"The World Championships are a bonus for me as my long-term aim is to collect my coaching badges and then move over to the United States to coach. I will coach normal sighted people at first because it is a lot harder to coach visually impaired people.

"There is a great opportunity ahead of me and I intend to grab it with both hands. I felt down for a little while but there are always people worse off than you in life and it is all about being positive."