Former Leeds United physio reveals hilarious Jonathan Woodgate treatment room story — Leeds Live 18/10/23

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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."

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