The Las Leonas goalkeeper, Ellie Roebuck, opens up to the impact of his stroke while revealing that he feared for his career and “should have lost my vision”

England's goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck, has spoken in depth in the shocking blow he suffered at the age of 24, revealing that he is lucky to not only have his career but his vision.

Roebuck, who has 11 caps, noticed for the first time something bad around the Christmas period of 2023.

His club, Man City at that time, thought that his symptoms were of a brain shock at the beginning, but more scanned revealed the worrying truth.

“He filled me with panic, but I never had in my mind that it was a stroke,” Roebuck said in an interview sitting with BBC Sport.

“The doctor sat me and said:” You have had a heart attack in the left occipital lobe. “I asked 'what is that in English?' And then he said he was a type of stroke.

An occipital infarction is the formal name given to an ischemic stroke, which is caused by a blood clot that obstructs an artery in the brain.

The archera of the lions, Ellie Roebuck

An occipital lobe race can cause visual alterations such as blurred vision, hallucinations or, in the worst cases, blindness.

“I'm lucky because I should have lost my vision,” Roebuck continued. 'I should have lost my peripheral vision safely. Most people suffering from a stroke (like mine) do that. So, it should probably have been blind, which is a miracle that did not happen.

'My first question was' I'm going to play football again? Nurses said they can't transport purchases for six weeks. You cannot do any exercise. I thought: 'I'm a professional footballer, I can't do that.'

'I wouldn't walk my dog ​​for six weeks. I would not leave the house. I was afraid to do anything on my own. And that was never me, I was always super independent. My mother and dad were turning to live with me on my floor in a room in Manchester.

The test occurred only weeks after Roebuck signed an pre -contract agreement to join Barcelona in the summer and could fulfill that dream.

Now 25 years, Roebuck made his debut at Barça in December in a 4-1 victory over Real Betis, 303 days after his diagnosis and more than 18 months since his last appearance.

The cap was part of the triumphant lionesses team in the euros in 2022 and the team that reached the World Cup final a year later.

Now he will be pressing for a retirement in the middle Uncertainty about Wiegman's Jeriblycian order.

“It's hard because that is something that is not in my hands as such,” Roebuck explained about a possible international return. 'Nothing occurs. I know it's not an easy trip. And I know that I need to play constantly week after week, but for me it is more than that, it is a trip I am.

“Now I am prioritizing the things that are more important, and that is being the best goalkeeper that can be.”