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Joe Bunney has signed for Grimsby Town after fully recovering from injuries sustained in a car crash that derailed his Bolton Wanderers career.
The full-back admitted he “counts his blessings every day” having survived a crash after falling asleep at the wheel while travelling along the M55 – just a week after signing for the Whites on a free transfer from Northampton Town in September 2019.
Speaking to Radio Humberside, the 27-year-old openly talked about the crash that all but ended his Whites career before it going.
“I had a lot of injuries, I had a fractured eye socket, collarbone, cheekbone, rib,” he said. “I had a blood clot in my leg that was the longest injury. Ideally I thought I was only going to be out for a few weeks but the blood clot seemed to take 12 and it was hard getting fit with a blood clot but thankfully I am over that now and I am fit and ready to go and can’t wait to get going.”
He added: “It was simply a mistake of falling asleep at the wheel, nothing I could do about it.
“It was one of those things, I was unfortunate. I was gutted at the time because I had just signed for Bolton seven days before. I was gutted but it was just one of those things.”
When asked was he lucky to be alive, Bunney said: “Definitely, I count my blessings every day.”
Bunney played just twice for the Whites having been reunited with former Bolton boss Keith Hill who he played under at Rochdale. While he returned as a free agent on trial after Ian Evatt took charge, he was not offered another contract.
After brief spells with Matlock in the Northern Premier League and Hartlepool in the National League, Bunney is delighted to be back in the EFL with Grimsby.
“I just wanted to play so I went back in to non-league just to get some games under my belt, I just love playing football so that is what I wanted to do,” he added.
“Then the Hartlepool opportunity came, there was the chance it was going to be short term and maybe get back in to the league and that is what it has done and thankfully it has turned out well.”
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The full-back admitted he “counts his blessings every day” having survived a crash after falling asleep at the wheel while travelling along the M55 – just a week after signing for the Whites on a free transfer from Northampton Town in September 2019.
Speaking to Radio Humberside, the 27-year-old openly talked about the crash that all but ended his Whites career before it going.
“I had a lot of injuries, I had a fractured eye socket, collarbone, cheekbone, rib,” he said. “I had a blood clot in my leg that was the longest injury. Ideally I thought I was only going to be out for a few weeks but the blood clot seemed to take 12 and it was hard getting fit with a blood clot but thankfully I am over that now and I am fit and ready to go and can’t wait to get going.”
He added: “It was simply a mistake of falling asleep at the wheel, nothing I could do about it.
“It was one of those things, I was unfortunate. I was gutted at the time because I had just signed for Bolton seven days before. I was gutted but it was just one of those things.”
When asked was he lucky to be alive, Bunney said: “Definitely, I count my blessings every day.”
Bunney played just twice for the Whites having been reunited with former Bolton boss Keith Hill who he played under at Rochdale. While he returned as a free agent on trial after Ian Evatt took charge, he was not offered another contract.
After brief spells with Matlock in the Northern Premier League and Hartlepool in the National League, Bunney is delighted to be back in the EFL with Grimsby.
“I just wanted to play so I went back in to non-league just to get some games under my belt, I just love playing football so that is what I wanted to do,” he added.
“Then the Hartlepool opportunity came, there was the chance it was going to be short term and maybe get back in to the league and that is what it has done and thankfully it has turned out well.”
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