Travis talks about his injury

The following comes from the PFA Website:

Simon Travis has revealed how his England dream turned into a nightmare after a collapsed lung saw him rushed to hospital fighting for breath. Hereford's 28-year-old full back had already suffered heartbreak when the Bulls crashed out of the Conference play-offs at the semi final stage for the second year in succession before his England tragedy struck.

He was making his first appearance for four years for the non-league National Game XI in the traditional end-of-season four nations tournament in Ireland. It was all going according to plan for the former Telford man as England had just taken the lead against their hosts when disaster struck. Travis took a knee to the ribs and collapsed in agony before being stretchered off.

However, this was only the beginning of his four-day ordeal as he revealed: "I was gasping for breath and the physio rang for an ambulance immediately when it didn't ease off so I was on my to Cork University hospital ten minutes after being stretchered off.

"My breathing was shallow in the ambulance but I was trying not to panic as I presumed worrying would only make my chest tighter. I was stuck in A&E for an hour and a half before I saw a doctor and they finally gave me a CT scan at one o'clock in the morning. I was with the England doctor all the time and he thought I might have damaged my spleen as well as breaking a couple of ribs, but they actually found that one of my lungs had collapsed.

"I was totally oblivious to all that was going on as I was on morphine and in a world of my own, but I certainly knew about it when the morphine wore off. Because of the trauma when I sustained the injury, I lost the use of both of my lungs for a while, which could have been pretty serious."

Travis's night to forget continued, as he had to wait until four o'clock in the morning before surgeons finally cut him open. A tube was inserted between his ribs to help drain the blood that was weighing heavily on his lung and forcing it to collapse. And as Travis admitted, he looked a sorry sight shuffling around Cork hospital.

"I had a tube sticking out of my side that was attached to a see-through box and I had to carry it round with me for two days," he continued. "As you can imagine, I was getting some strange looks from people as I walked round with a box full of blood. It wasn't a great experience but I am very grateful to the FA as they flew my wife Charlotte over and she spent four days with me.

"That was handy as it can be a lonely place when you aren't feeling well and she is a psychiatric nurse so she feels at home in hospitals. We were finally flown back by air-ambulance to Walsgrave hospital and it cost the FA somewhere in the region of £80,000 to fly us both back so I will always be in their debt. I couldn't fly at the normal 30,000 feet as the pressure would have been too great on my lung, but I am recovering well and aim to be back for pre-season."

On the football front, Travis, who is set to start a plumbing course in Dudley in September, is hoping that it will be third time lucky next term. The Bulls have finished runners-up for two years in a row but fallen at the play-off hurdle on both attempts. However, unlike last season when there was a mass exodus of players only Andrew Tretton and Mark Robinson have left while Graham Hyde and Danny Williams have been released.

Travis believes that the relative financial stability and squad strength will mean that the Bulls can finally take it one step further next term. "It is devastating to finish runners-up and then lose in the play-offs two years on the bounce," added Travis. "We have kept the nucleus of the team and if we can bring in three or four additions then we have a real chance.

"I think we will be competing with Stevenage, Aldershot and one dark horse for the title but I am sure we can pull it off this time. The club is financially stable now and that is fundamentally the most important thing. We are definitely going places and it is a massive club at this level with the catchment area all around. We will pull in 6,000 if we are doing well and I don't think anyone else can say that at this level. Everything is positive and I will be back for pre-season and determined to make my mark next year too."

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