Former Leeds United physio reveals hilarious Jonathan Woodgate treatment room story — Leeds Live 18/10/23
Jonathan Woodgate's time as a player was hampered by injuries and former Leeds United head physiotherapist Dave Hancock has spoken of one particular instance which had Michael Bridges in stitches
By Chris Knight
Former Leeds United head physiotherapist Dave Hancock has
revealed how Who Wants to Be a Millionaire was used in the recovery of former
stars such as Jonathan Woodgate. The ex-Whites defender was plagued by injuries
during his career, but still enjoyed spells at Newcastle United and Real Madrid
after leaving Elland Road in January 2003.
Hancock himself spent seven years with Leeds before leaving
for Chelsea in 2007, three years after the team had fallen out of the Premier
League after financial ruin prompted the club to sell a host of stars. Woodgate
was among the prized assets to depart, having made 139 appearances for the
club.
Recurring back problems resulted in regular spells on the
sidelines and caused other injury issues which would hamper Woodgate's later
years as a player. Hancock spoke of his challenge as head physio of keeping
players' minds focused during their recovery efforts, and the Who Wants to Be a
Millionaire tale prompted uncontrollable laugher from former Whites striker
Michael Bridges.
Hancock told the Official Leeds United Podcast: "We did
something different every single day. So, in the treatment room for instance,
...had this book Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
"It was an ongoing joke that we would ask the players
on both sides of the treatment room a million dollar question. So you can
imagine Jonathan Woodgate... we would have been there till Christmas in 2032
waiting for the answer to that!"
Bridges quipped about the quality of Woodgate's answer
before harshly suggesting the former centre-back had an 'IQ of 10'. Hancock
then added: "Us laughing like this, you can imagine what it was like in
the treatment room, and every day we had stuff like this going on."
