From Blyth to Manchester United, how Paul Woolston's fascinating story was cut short

“There was a 99 percent chance that my career was over - but it wasn’t 100 percent and I wanted to be the one percent that could prove them wrong.”

Four years ago, after a highly successful loan spell at Blyth Spartans, teenage goalkeeper Paul Woolston was released by Newcastle United. This despite making a name for himself in the Magpies academy and during his temporary stay with the then-Northern Premier League champions.

After spending time on trial with a number of EFL clubs and one in the United States, Woolston was given a chance to prove himself on the grandest stage English football has to provide. Manchester United offered him a deal after he proved himself during a trial with the 13-time Premier League champions and he settled into life training alongside the likes of David de Gea and current Newcastle transfer target Dean Henderson.

But this year a routine operation picked up a hip injury that would end his promising career at the age of just 23. In an emotional interview with ChronicleLive, he explained: “I knew going in for the second operation, that could be the end of my career if it didn’t work.

“There was progress, the balance was right, I was flying but I knew there would be dips. I went outside, I did ball work, I did running, but then I made a ten yard pass and felt that feeling in my standing leg and I ran, the same thing happened.

“I felt like someone had stabbed me, so I went on the physio bed and had it iced because I knew it had gone. I broke down in the car, I knew, I just knew that was it, I was done as a player."

Two years of slog and sacrifice were without reward. There had been hours of lonely, painstaking recovery and rehabilitation and watching on as team-mates went about their day-to-day