One-Game Wonder: The sad story of Wesley Boyle’s ruined Leeds career

On September 21, 1996, Wesley Boyle made his debut for Leeds United. As one of the club’s most promising youngsters, the only way appeared to be up. But bad luck and even worse advice from a physio meant that his first game for the club would also be his last.

Leeds United’s most successful youth team provided the foundations for their Champions League tilt, yet one of their brightest talents from that team is only a footnote in their history after having his career ruined by injuries and poor medical advice.

Wesley Boyle was plucked from Portadown aged just 16 and would go on to play alongside Harry Kewell and Jonathan Woodgate for Leeds’ Under-18s as they won the FA Youth Cup in 1997 – but their careers eventually headed in rather different directions.

“Leeds saw me playing in the Irish league for Portadown’s first team and invited me over for a week’s trial, then I signed,” Boyle says. “It was hard to settle, but I was obviously never going to turn down the opportunity.

“We had probably one of the best youth teams in the country. Every player was outstanding technically.

“It didn’t take an expert to see Harry Kewell was going to be a great player, and Jonathan Woodgate was the other outstanding player in that team, but there were other good players from one to 11 and even the subs.

“We were beating teams every week – we only lost one game that season.

“A few of us had actually already made our debuts for the first team by that point. I’d made my debut, Harry Kewell and Alan Maybury had also played.”

Boyle made his first-team bow ahead of many of his peers as a 17-year-old against Newcastle United in September 1996, coming on as a late substitute for Ian Rush, a man almost twice his age.

Boyle had been in fine form for