Former Portsmouth defender suffers horror brain injury year on from former Sunderland man’s Fratton exit
The former Sunderland man is recovering from a frightening brain injury after a training ground collision at his current employers.
Former Pompey defender Denver Hume is recovering after suffering a horrifying bleed on the brain.
The man who left Fratton Park last year for Grimsby Town is facing a spell out of football, after being hit with a fractured skull and brain injury in a training incident with Fleetwood Town.
Denver Hume suffers brain bleed and fractured skull
Hume was involved in a collision with a team-mate which led to the 27-year-old suffering the concerning blow, one described by his boss Pete Wild as the worst he’s seen in football.
The man who joined Pompey from Sunderland in 2022 is now facing a period of recovery, though Wild hasn’t written off the left-sided player returning to action this season.
Wild told BBC Sounds the collision initially looked ‘innocuous’ before the severity of the injury became apparent.
He said: ‘Denver has suffered a fractured skull and bleed on the brain from a collision in training.
‘It was really innocuous collision and he suffered concussion from the incident and other things which have come from that.
‘He’s been having a battery of testing which has been going on now for four or five weeks. The good news is it will all heal and he’s on the mend.
‘He still has some concussion and there’s a lot to process mentally from the incident. It’s knocked him from six and it’s knocked us all for six.
‘It was so innocuous from what’s happened.
‘We’re up to a review last week and he’s been cleared to do some light exercise, that being very light and hopefully he can have a return to a more physical life.
‘That will also take some time and there is another follow-up in January where we will get some more information on where that takes him.
‘There is a possibility he can play before the end of the season, but I can’t say he will or won’t.
‘Having sustained this injury it’s going to be down to how he reacts coming back to physical fitness and how he reacts mentally to coming back to contact and football.
‘He’ll have every support from us, the PFA and obviously his family - who have been fantastic for him in this period of time.
‘We’re here to support him and we will support him all the way. We have fantastic medical staff here who will support him through that process.
Fleetwood boss: ‘It’s the worst one I’ve seen’
‘We will have to take it step by step and see how he personally reacts, physically and mentally to coming back to football.
‘It’s the worst one (incident) I’ve seen.
‘It was so innocuous. He’s looking at the ball and the lad comes from the side to put the ball back in.
‘It’s hanging in the air, he spins his head and makes full contact with his knee. He hit the deck straightaway, so it’s physios sprinting over and you take it from there.
‘Then the extent came out over the next 24-48 hours - it makes you think what’s important in life when things like that happen.
‘But I’ve spoken to Denver this week, he seems in good spirits and is trying to get back to some normality in life.’
Hume joined Pompey from Sunderland for £200,000 in 2022, but it proved a spell at Fratton Park which didn’t work out for the player as he made just 31 appearances and 11 league starts.
He moved on to Grimsby Town in February of last year and rebuild his reputation at Blundell Park, earning a place in the League Two team of the season off the back of delivering 12 assists.
That paved the way for his summer move to Fleetwood on a two-year deal, where he’s made nine appearances for the Cod Army.