Fleetwood boss Pete Wild describes how a “innocuous” training collision left Denver Hume with a concerning brain hemorrhage.
Denver Hume, a former Sunderland and Portsmouth defender, is still recovering from a brain bleed sustained during what Fleetwood Town characterize as a normal training incident.
The 27-year-old was injured last month, shocking staff and teammates with the severity of what appeared to be a minor incident. Fleetwood boss Pete Wild stated that the situation had been tough for everyone to digest.
“He’s been having a battery of testing now for four or five weeks, and luckily the good news is that it will heal and he is on the mend,” Wild told the BBC’s Lancashire affiliate. “He still has a lot of mental processing to do following the tragedy. It certainly caught him and us off guard because it was so benign.”
Hume has now been cleared to commence very moderate physical activities as he continues his rehabilitation. “He’s been cleared to do some light – very light – exercises and hopefully start a return to more physical life,” Wild informed us. “That’ll take some time, and he’s got another follow-up in January, where we’ll start to see some more information for where that takes him.”
Hume, who came through Sunderland’s system before moving on to Portsmouth and Grimsby Town, signed a two-year contract with Fleetwood in the summer and appeared in 11 games before to the incident. Wild has not ruled out Hume returning before the end of the season, but emphasized that the defender’s health comes first.
The Echo has developed a new WhatsApp SAFC channel that will deliver the most recent news, commentary, team and injury updates directly to your phone. Simply click this link to join the SAFC WhatsApp group.
“There’s a possibility he plays before the end of the season, but I can’t say whether he will or he won’t because having sustained this injury, it will be down to how he reacts to coming back to physical fitness and how he reacts mentally to coming back to contact football,” according to him. “We have wonderful medical team here that will help him through this process. We’ll have to do it step by step.
The Fleetwood manager also explained how the collision happened while training. “He’s watching the ball and he spins his head and made full contact with someone’s knee and he hit the deck straight away,” he told me. “When the extent of it came out over the next 24-48 hours… It makes you think about what’s really important in life.”
Wild said that he spoke with Hume this week and that the defender is staying upbeat during his recovery. “He’s in good spirits and he’s trying to get back to a bit of normality, which is pleasing,” he told me.
Hume was born in Ashington and joined Sunderland’s academy at the age of ten. He made his Championship debut for Sunderland in the final match of the 2017-18 season, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 3-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Your next Sunderland read: Sunderland U21s player ratings: Dennis Cirkin, Dan Neil, Luke O’Nien, and noteworthy performers vs Athletic Club
xz
