Bogle opens up about painkiller addiction & rehab

Crewe Alexandra forward Omar Bogle says he can see a future for himself again after a battle with addiction to painkillers and alcohol.

The 32-year-old forward's reliance on prescription drugs began after using them to ease the pain of a back injury last year.

Bogle did not realise the scale of his addiction until it was pointed out by his agent and believes that without him he would not have seen his 32nd birthday in July.

"He just said 'when I'm looking at you, I can't see anything behind your eyes'," Bogle told BBC Radio Stoke.

"I've known him for over 10 years, so he's family to me now, but like everyone else, he didn't know the extent what I was doing.

"I knew I was using ridiculous amounts, but when they [doctors] tell me that 'you've overdosed a gazillion times and you should be dead' and all these things, I didn't know it was to that extent."

The former Grimsby striker also had to battle depression and suicidal thoughts as well as addiction as his life unravelled.

"It's the shame and guilt that you get from knowing that you're doing something that you probably shouldn't be doing, or living your life in a way that you probably shouldn't be, coupled with things not going right in your life at the time as well," he recalled.

"It was coupled with, I'm not playing well, I'm not performing well, I continue to keep getting injured, and my relationships are going wrong in my life.

"The shame and guilt you get from that is enough to drive you to use more."

After the wake-up call from his agent, Bogle sought help and checked into a rehabilitation unit on 2 July.

He kept it quiet from everyone at the club aside from his chairman Charles Grant and manager Lee Bell, but praised both their support and that of his team-mates on his return.

"My team-mates have been amazing," Bogle said. "Effectively they're more than just my team-mates, some of them are really good life friends."

Now, four months post-rehab and six months sober, Bogle said he is just grateful to be healthy again.

And he advises anyone going through similar issues to seek out the ear of a trusted friend.

"To be able to resonate with someone else that's going through it, that's like a massive weight off your shoulders," he added.

Having scored in his first two matches back for Crewe in November, Bogle is now recovering from another injury, but this time with a fresh outlook.

He now has the perspective of someone who is enjoying the graft in regaining his fitness and someone eager to grasp a second chance.

"I'm great. Someone would have asked me that six or seven months ago, I would probably have said the same thing, but now I genuinely feel really good," he said.

"Things are looking up for me, in all aspects of life, to be honest, and I can see a future for myself again."