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Former Liverpool defender Andre Wisdom has revealed he never fully recovered as a soccer player following a brutal stabbing incident that left him wounded four times outside a house party on Merseyside.
Wisdom featured in 22 games for Liverpool alongside club legends, including Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez, after progressing through the club's youth system. Yet his destiny lay elsewhere than Anfield - departing for Derby County in 2017.
During 2020, while visiting relatives, Wisdom returned to Liverpool and attended a house gathering. In the early morning hours, he fell victim to an assault by a gang of masked assailants who targeted his watch.
"To this day I still have pain in my body from being stabbed," he told BBC Sport.
"I shouldn't have been there... I should have been at home recovering after the game, but it was lockdown and I was eager to be outside."
Wisdom described how violence erupted when the attackers demanded his watch, confessing he "didn't have time to run" but should have thought clearly rather than allowing pride to "get in the way."
Remarkably, Wisdom managed to drive himself home, where he discovered the severity of his injuries: "I checked my thigh and the muscle was almost hanging out of the wound. That's when I phoned for an ambulance."
He had also sustained stab wounds to his head, buttocks, and chest.
Wisdom required two surgical procedures to repair his injuries and, astonishingly, returned to action for Derby just three months after the assault. Nevertheless, he acknowledges that the comeback was premature.
He added: "My body just wasn't the same. It was frustrating.
"I wasn't getting the same output in power and speed. I came back too soon. I was too eager."
Wisdom continued: "I wouldn't say that night ruined my career, but it definitely changed it."
Following his initial return, he took a break from football to fully recover from the incident, resuming play in 2023 for a non-League team.
After departing Derby in 2021, Wisdom had spells at Warrington Town, Derry City, and FC United of Manchester, where he transferred this summer.
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