Pic: Pinnacle
KYLE NIX knew something wasn't quite right. Playing for PTT Rayong in Thailand, he felt like he couldn't run during games or shake a problem in his calf.
But, as you would, the former Mansfield, Gateshead, Tamworth and Buxton midfielder put it down to a long, hard year that had started with pre-season in January and finished in December.
Little did he know then, that the problem would result in doctors finding a tumour in the pumping chamber of his heart, open heart surgery and, ultimately, retirement from football at the age of 30.
Nix's story starts at the end of last year, following the end of his fourth season playing in Thailand.
Hoping rest would cure his tight calf, Nix resumed light training on a treadmill and in the swimming pool. Within 30 seconds of starting, the pain would return. He even had problems walking to the shops next to his apartment.
Auto-pilot
On one occasion he was lifting light weights in the gym when his arm went all floppy and unbearable pins and needles took over.
An offer to play in Malaysia came so he flew over to sign, only to break down in training. Having trained twice a day in over 30 degree heat, he should have been in the shape of his life. Something wasn't right.
In March he flew home to England, had physio, and eventually went to St George's Park where Dr Charlotte Cowie couldn't detect a strong pulse in his right leg.
Appointments with a Cardiovascular doctor followed, some scans, and eventually a life-changing discovery.
“When they rang and said it was a tumour… I can't remember what happened,” Nix says. “You sort of go into auto-pilot. I had to give the phone to my dad. The next day I was in hospital not knowing myself what would happen.
“At first they didn't know if it was cancerous, but it's not. The tumour was in my left ventricle – the pumping chamber – over time they think something has broken off and a piece of tumour has gone around my body and got stuck in arteries. One in my left leg, one in my right leg, and one in my right arm.
“They said it's like a motorway. The main supply is the motorway, and transports the blood around. If that's blocked off it has to go on the back roads to get to where it needs to be. So no wonder I was in pain!”
Known as myxoma, the tumour is rare and has had doctors scratching their heads. Pumped with drugs and blood thinners, they also discovered inflammation and scar tissue – the result of two tiny heart attacks.
That explained the floppy arm episode. The other time he'd just left the gym when, for ten seconds, he felt like he'd “had ten pints”. On June 3, a week before the European Championships, he had open heart surgery to remove the tumour.
Then, at the beginning of August, he was told his professional career was over.
“I was told my leg was safe and, at the minute, I don't need any more major surgery,” Nix says. “Right before that, the doctor told me was my career is over. But I think he did it that way round to say, ‘This is over, but this is ok'.
“You can't really be upset about it. You go from a feeling of devastation – and that's what it is, I can't say I wasn't devastated when he said it's over – to being told your leg is safe. That brings you up again.
“It's football isn't it? It is kicking a bag of wind around. People treat it like it's life or death, but it's obviously not.”
For someone who has had the remainder of his professional playing days taken away from him, Nix's positivity is inspiring.
He's had messages of support from the football community from a career that started out at Manchester United, took in Aston Villa's youth team with England defender Gary Cahill, and led onto him playing at Wembley as well as his England's age groups.
Technically adept and comfy on the ball, his qualities also saw him called up for England C by Paul Fairclough.
“I've played at Wembley, played for some good clubs, represented my country, played for England C in Hungary and Estonia, been at Man United – loads of little things you probably don't think about normally,” he says.
“Then you look at it and I can say I've played in Asia, had knockbacks, got in ruts at a couple of clubs where you think, ‘What the hell am I doing here', and I've come out the other side positive. I always kept believing.”
Nix hopes he's given English players a good name in Thailand and that his story shows young footballers who are injured or going through difficult times to be strong.
“I have to look at it as a positive,” he says. “There are a lot of lads in football whose glass is half empty, and you're not doing well enough. I think that's just the pressures you put on yourself.
Reality
“The Malaysia contract could have set me up for years to come with my coaching company. But then I've had to come home and I'm getting sick pay. That's not a bad thing, but it's the reality.
“Sometimes you've got to appreciate being bored, which is what I am now while I'm recovering. That's what I'm saying to other lads. Not appreciate being bored, but appreciate that you can get bored, that you can start your coaching badges, or do whatever you want to do. The things we all take for granted.”
Nix is still having scans and tests, but then life after playing will begin with K3 Coaching. It's a company he's set up with his brothers Korey and Kallum, who are currently in Australia delivering sessions in schools and camps.
Cahill has sent a video message of encouragement for the kids, and they plan to start up in England in the near future.
“We're basing it on young lads having the ball constantly at their feet,” says Nix. “Our motto is, ‘It's all about the ball'. I just love being on the ball and that's what we want – them to enjoy it.”
