There were five minutes to go until kick-off and, led slowly by Archie Fairclough, Jamie Johnson made his way on to the Hawkstone United pitch for the first time in five months.

He was not here to play, however. Just to show his support for his club.

Archie had invited him along, thinking that watching a game live – seeing the action close up – might help Jamie to access his football brain. They had tried to kick a football together for the first time this week but it had gone terribly; Jamie had fallen over twice.

That was when Archie had suggested coming along to the game.

“It might just make something click,” he’d said. “And anyway, the players are all desperate to see you.”

Jamie had quickly agreed and had been massively excited about the prospect but, when he heard the PA announcer pipe up just as he was about to take his seat behind the dugout, Jamie knew he’d made an awful mistake.

“Ladies and gentleman.” The announcement had come in a loud, booming voice and with far too much drama for Jamie’s liking. “If you were watching the match between Barcelona and Real Madrid some four weeks ago, you will no doubt have seen the awful accident involving Jamie Johnson, the hugely popular former Hawkstone United player…”

Suddenly Jamie’s face appeared on the big screen and a hush descended on the crowd, followed by the sound of thirty-five thousand people all whispering and gossiping at the same time:

I thought his head had actually come off.

What a tragedy … I hope he’s going to be OK.

I heard he still can’t speak properly.

What a player – we could do with him now!

“…Well, we’re very pleased to say that Jamie is recovering well and is back with us for today’s game … and we’d like to invite him on to the pitch now to receive your applause!”

A terrific roar reverberated around the ground. Fans stood up and clapped. Fathers put their arms around their sons and pointed proudly in Jamie’s direction. If only they were clapping me scoring a goal, Jamie thought to himself, rather than just feeling sorry for me.

Initially Jamie thought he might be able to get away with just a wave, but the applause was too much. The fans wanted to see him.

So here Jamie was: slowly, painfully, shuffling his way on to the pitch. He could now walk without the crutches but he knew his body well enough to be certain that he couldn’t clap and walk at the same time, so he had to wait until he’d made his way fully into the centre circle before he could in any way acknowledge the stunning ovation he was receiving.

The last time he had stood on this pitch, he had been parading the Premier League trophy in front of the fans – sprinting around the ground in pure joy.

Today was different. Jamie knew he was collecting the fans’ sympathy rather than their admiration.

Finally, he raised his hands and clapped the fans back, trying to be the returning hero they so wanted him to be.

But for Jamie, this was not a thrill. It was torture. This pitch, this canvas of dreams, was the only place he wanted to be. But not like this. Not as a shadow of himself.

Within five minutes of the game starting, he’d gone, slipping quietly out of one of the exits and making his way home.

Jamie understood why Archie had thought that watching the game might help. The hope was that, as Jamie watched the action, his brain would finally click into gear and neatly present Jamie with all the abilities that he’d lost.

But life wasn’t that perfect. Instead, it had felt more like a form of torment: Jamie being forced to watch other people do what he so desperately wanted to do.

He’d had to walk home from the ground because he couldn’t even run properly. It was as though his body would not receive his brain’s commands and there was nothing he could do to change it.

“You’re early!” Jamie’s mum said as he trudged through the brand-new door of their brand-new house, slamming it shut behind him. “How did it go? Any good kicks?”

“I hate myself,” was all he could offer, before dragging himself upstairs to his room.

Slowly but surely, not being able to play football was killing Jamie.