- Warning: This article contains references to violence
Former Liverpool defender Andre Wisdom, who was stabbed during an attack by five masked thugs in June 2020, has opened up on how the harrowing incident derailed his career.
Wisdom progressed through Liverpool’s youth ranks to play 22 times for the senior team, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez before leaving Anfield to join Derby in 2017.
Three years later, while football was halted as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, Wisdom was attacked by several masked men after leaving a house party in the early hours of June 28, 2020.
‘Who knows where I’d be playing today had I not been stabbed,’ the former Liverpool defender told BBC Sport.
‘I wouldn’t say that night ruined my career, but it definitely changed it. To this day I still have pain in my body from being stabbed.’
After undergoing surgery, Wisdom recovered to play again for Derby but was released by the club in 2021.
Former Liverpool defender Andre Wisdom has shared harrowing details of the brutal attack which led to him being stabbed by five thugs in June 2020 – and how it still brings him pain
Wisdom was once a highly-rated Liverpool youngster but now plays in the seventh tier of English football (pictured far left with Jordan Ibe, Nathaniel Clyne and Joe Gomez)
The incident happened while Wisdom was playing for Derby during the Covid-19 pandemic
Despite having trials at Portsmouth, Sheffield United and Birmingham, the defender did not land another permanent contract with an English Football League club – and eventually signed for non-league outfit Warrington Town in 2023.
Now, following a short stint at Derry City in Northern Ireland, the 32-year-old footballer plays for seventh-tier semi-professional club FC United of Manchester.
As a youngster who scored on his Liverpool debut at the age of 19 and previously captained the England U21s, Wisdom would have had ambitions of playing at the highest level for long time.
But the incident, which occurred after Wisdom broke Covid-19 lockdown restrictions to attend a house party in Liverpool, has led to his career taking a very different path.
He attended the party just hours after playing alongside Wayne Rooney in Derby’s 2-1 victory over Reading, which was staged behind closed doors at Pride Park.
Opening up on the incident, Wisdom admitted with brutal honesty: ‘I shouldn’t have been there. I should have been at home recovering after the game, but it was lockdown and I was eager to be outside.’
He continued: ‘I was leaving the party by myself, walking to my car. I was on the street and there were about five guys, balaclavas and knives.
‘They said: “Give us your watch.” I said no and a fight started. I didn’t have time to run. I should have used my head but pride got in the way.
Wisdom has since admitted honestly that he shouldn’t have gone to the house party that night
The former England youth star has gone on to buy several properties in Liverpool – with one having been rented out by former Reds defender Trent Alexander Arnold (above)
‘Loads of people came out of the party after about five minutes of fighting. The attackers ran off and I was left covered in blood on the street. Everything happened really quickly.
‘I was able to drive home, which was about a 15-20 minute journey. Adrenalin probably kept me going but only when I was home did I realise I’d been stabbed multiple times.
‘I checked my thigh and the muscle was almost hanging out of the wound. That’s when I phoned for an ambulance.’
Wisdom was stabbed in the head, chest and buttocks, as well as his left thigh. The assailants were also never caught.
Although still affected by the harrowing experience, the former England youth star is determined to look to the future with optimism and positivity.
The 32-year-old has invested significantly in property over the years and owns several houses near Liverpool, which have been rented out to young players at the Premier League club.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, who left Liverpool to join Spanish giants Real Madrid this summer, stayed in one of Wisdom’s houses prior to breaking into the first team.
