Three times Sonny Bradley has been told his is season is over as he’s battled some serious medical issues, but so determined is he to lead Luton to the Premier League that overcoming his personal problems is what is firing the captain on to something to remember for the rest of his life.
Even as recent as two weeks ago, his race looked run when he limped out of the 1-1 draw with Blackpool, but tonight at Kenilworth Road, he is expected to lead Luton out for the Championship play-off semi-final first leg against Huddersfield.
Captaining the Hatters back to the top flight, 30 years after they were relegated before the inaugural Premier League season, is motivation in itself, but after Bradley’s personal trials and tribulations are quite the story themselves.
The 30-year-old has been hit hard three times by Covid, undergone double hernia surgery and then, when that went wrong, was rushed to hospital for an emergency operation because of complications with his internal organs.
“As an individual, it’s been a difficult season and on at least three separate occasions I’ve been told that it’s the end of my season, I need to stop. But for me that was in one ear and out the other as it’s such a special season and I want to be part of it,” Bradley said.
“Everything that’s happened to me this season, it’s just part of the story and part of the rollercoaster of this season. If we do get there to Wembley and do end up getting into the Premier League, it’s probably a story, personally, that I’ll be speaking about for the rest of my life.”
Remarkably, after his illnesses and recent ankle injury, Bradley returned and completed 90 minutes against Reading on Saturday when Town won 1-0 to seal their place in the play-offs, something the defender is yet to experience.
The skipper said: “This season I’ve only played 22 league games, which for me, is a little bit upsetting, because I want to play as much as I can, but it’s things that I haven’t been able to control.
“Covid, at the start of the season, hit me worse than everybody at the club, which was unfortunate for me. I missed a good part of the season at the start and then I’ve had an operation on a sportsman’s hernia, both sides, and I thought I was only going to be out for a couple of weeks.
“I was recovering well, seven days into it, I got rushed into hospital, I had to have emergency surgery because my small intestine got stuck to the scarring from my operation, so that was a really scary time for me and that was another time in the season when I got told by the doctor, ‘look, you probably shouldn’t be playing again this season, you need a really good break’.”
Explaining the severity of his post-op complications, Bradley added: “A week into my recovery, I wasn’t back in training yet, I was at home and my stomach started swelling up.
“I thought it was a little bit strange and I was at home on my own and, to be honest, I panicked a little bit because I was being sick, I couldn’t stop it and I didn’t know what to do.
“In the end, I felt myself passing out, so I left my front door open, rang and ambulance and the next thing I knew I was getting rushed to Milton Keynes Central Hospital.
“Within 24 hours, I was back under the knife getting more surgery. It was keyhole surgery again, which I’d had previously for the groin operation. They went back in there and had to separate my small intestine from the scarring of my first operation.
“Fingers crossed, touch wood, since then I’ve recovered and it’s been fine, but it was obviously a scary time for myself and my family.
“The doctor said to me, ‘I understand how important your role is at the football club, but you’ve just had two major surgeries in eight days, so it’s important that you recover well and do it right’.
“I’ve done everything right. I’ve worked alongside the club doctor and the club physios. They’ve made sure that I’m not at any risk, so I’ve followed protocol in that regard.
“But they more or less said to me, ‘your season should be done’. But it’s a massively important season, not only for myself, but for the football club as well. I’m back to full fitness now. Luckily, I’ve got a smile on my face and I’m ready to go.”
And his own personal triumph in the face of adversity, is spurring Bradley on to what could be one of the greatest football stories ever, should Luton win promotion.
He said: “I think any other season, a couple of weeks ago, if the season would be finished and there wasn’t anything to play for, I might have taken that time to rest and recover, but this is a really, really special season for the football club and I know that, myself as the captain, I can make a big difference.
“So, that’s the attitude that I’ve got now, the mentality that I’m going to have for the rest of the season, the rest of the boys feel exactly the same way.
“So, put all that together and I think it’s a recipe for success and for me there’s no reason why we can’t win the next three games and become a Premier League club.”
