Sam Hutchinson played under both Jose Mourinho and Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea, set up a goal for Frank Lampard, and was in Munich on the historic night they won the Champions League for the first time in 2012. His time at Chelsea, however, was "filled with regret and what might have been" after a chronic knee injury so nearly ended his career before it had properly started. A product of Chelsea's youth system, Hutchinson was a promising defender on the fringes of the first team before being diagnosed with a chondral defect (a hole in his right knee) after suffering a serious injury during a reserve game at Aston Villa.
Having joined Chelsea as a seven-year-old, made his first-team debut at 17 under Mourinho and captained England at Under-19s level, Hutchinson took the gut-wrenching decision to retire at the age of 21 in 2010 after struggling to recover. A period of depression followed for the young player, who had been identified by Mourinho as a bright prospect. "I had already played for the first team and Mourinho had said some encouraging things about me in interviews," he says.
"Then the injury happened and everything fell apart. "After I retired I was in a bad place with dark thoughts." Hutchinson sought help for his depression. "Unless you get help, you never know how bad you are," he tells BBC Sport.
"Even telling this story, it's like therapy. "It's like the old saying - a problem shared is a problem halved. That's true about mental health.
If you're suffering in silence, it's not going to help." After receiving treatment at the Priory, and with his damaged knee finally fixed, Hutchinson came out of retirement in December 2011 to re-sign for Chelsea. More injuries followed but despite being limited to six senior Chelsea appearances, he has gone on to have a fulfilling career. Hutchinson played 200-plus games in the Championship, most notably for Sheffield Wednesday, where fans remember him fondly.
In addition to overseas spells in the Netherlands with Vitesse Arnhem and in Cyprus with Pafos, he has also turned out for Nottingham Forest, Reading and AFC Wimbledon. Sixteen years after fearing his career was over for good, the father-of-three is still playing the game he loves at the age of 37. This summer Hutchinson signed a two-year contract with non-league Farnham Town - after surviving a major health scare.
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