O'Hanlon on road to full recovery

Often in football, a serious injury can derail the progress of a player, as they are aiming to establish their standing in the game. This was very much the case for Cobh-born midfielder Tom O'Hanlon, who aggravated a serious back injury while on trial at Conference North side, Corby Town, earlier on this year.

This left him at something of a crossroads at the time, but thanks to the strong contacts of his agent, Apollo Sports representative Richard Garland, the 21-year-old now finds himself training with Redditch United, a Southern League Premier Division outfit, on a full-time basis while he completes his rehab from back surgery.

“Well basically my current agent Richard Garland, of Apollo Sports, he knows the (Redditch United) Chairman Chris Swan, and he showed him my profile. He seemed to like it, and he asked me to come in as soon as I finished my surgery,” remarks O'Hanlon.

“I was at a trial before I went to Redditch, and my back ended up being terrible, and I was sent home to have surgery done. Chris Swan was interested in getting me over. It was all down to my agent's contact with Chris, which was pretty good. There were a lot of places I could have gone, but Redditch stepped up to the plate, and I went over to them as soon as I finished my surgery”.

At the moment, O'Hanlon (whose preferred position is on the right-side of midfield) is training individually from the rest of the Redditch squad, and isn't yet in a position where he will be able to play in a full-length game. Though this is obviously a frustrating situation for the former Cork City and Cobh Ramblers man to be in, he nonetheless understands how important this particular rehab is for him in the long-term, and is confident that he will be back playing before too long.

“It's obviously frustrating, as a footballer you want to be playing week in, week out. Obviously, this is very important to me as a player and as a footballer. The more you put into it, the more you get out of it. I fully understand putting all this work into it. Graham (Hyde, the manager), the chairman Chris, they fully understand what's going on, and I can 100% say I'll be back playing in the next few weeks”.

One of the most satisfying things for O'Hanlon about his time in the West Midlands so far has been his experience of working alongside Graham Hyde, who took on the role of manager after his predecessor, Martin Sockett, was relieved of his duties a couple of months ago. Hyde was a Premiership regular with Sheffield Wednesday back in the 1990s, and O'Hanlon gives an interesting insight into what he has learned from the Doncaster native.

“To be honest, it's really an honour to be training under Graham Hyde. I've actually learnt so much off Graham, and he's a legend in his own right. He's played at the highest level, he's played finals at Wembley, the whole lot. It's just the advice he gives you. I'm not training with the squad at the moment, but individually it's such an honour to know him. He's such a genuine guy, and he's really understanding towards me”.

O'Hanlon was one of a number of players who left Cork City due to financial difficulties in the summer of 2010, but unlike some of his former colleagues, he opted to travel across channel rather than link-up with another Airtricity league side. O'Hanlon says that this was not a difficult decision for him to make, as he saw it as natural progression in his career.

“Not at all (a difficult decision). When I was young I had different trials at Crawley Town and Product Academy in London. It was after I left City that I knew I wanted to play my football in the UK, and maybe in Europe somewhere. It was definitely an easy choice for me to make. Obviously my agent is from England, so with the amount of contacts he has through different clubs and so forth, it was really easy for me to head off”.

Nevertheless, O'Hanlon does keep one eye on the progress of the First Division Champions, and he looks forward to one day returning to play in Ireland again.

“I miss it to be honest with you. I do miss Cork City, and when I was let go I was devastated. It was heartbreaking, but you have to get up and plough on,” O'Hanlon states.

“I would love to (return) definitely. I actually had a chance when I left Forest Green to go to Limerick City, but at the time my back was too bad and I had to get an operation. Honestly, I really feel like I can come back and play in Ireland. I didn't feel I gave it enough of an opportunity when I was at Cobh Ramblers. I left there and I went to City, and then I came over here. I never really gave it a proper chance, because I was quite young when I came over here. It's definitely a plan for me to come back and play in Ireland”.

For the time being however, the former Ireland youth international is hoping to secure a long-term deal with Redditch United, and the early signs are certainly good on that front.

“I think there is definitely talks going on behind the scenes between Chris Swan and Graham Hyde at the moment. How far they're in I'm not too sure, but my International clearance has come through, which obviously gives me licence to play my football in England. Redditch is a brilliant stepping stone for any player coming back from injury. It has actually got 25 clubs around the area, within a 20 mile radius. So, it's a brilliant place for exposure. The club itself have a very good knowledge of where you want to be in a couple of years time. It's very important to me as a footballer because it shows me, and it shows players who want to come in, where they are going to be in three years time,” adds O'Hanlon.