Footballer Adam Dodd made his return to football just seven months on from nearly losing his life following a cardiac arrest.
The 29-year-old footballer plays for FC United of Manchester in the seventh tier of the footballing pyramid, but his days on the pitch were nearly cut short after a terrifying near miss last June.
The Kirkham-born left-back and his girlfriend Kat went to bed as normal on 3 June, 2022, but she woke up hours later “to the sounds of me in cardiac arrest”, as Dodd puts it.
After performing CPR for a terrifying 16 minutes straight and receiving a total of four defibrillator shocks, Dodd was rushed to hospital and fitted with a life-saving ICD (Implantable Cardioverter Defib).
While paramedics admitted at the time that his chances looked slim, he woke up from a coma just four days later and has now managed to make a full comeback, not only returning to training and being restored to the squad but even featuring as a substitute earlier this month. Simply incredible.
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🙌 Doddy's back!
He's fought huge three battles and now rejoins the squad for the Whitby game, looking to make his 100th appearance on Saturday
He tells his story here and pays tribute to everyone who got him to this point https://t.co/rWN8RhKdmD
— FC United of Manchester 🟥⬜⬛ (@FCUnitedMcr) January 6, 2023
Having been subbed on in a landmark 100th appearance for the Manchester United phoenix club’s games against Whitby Town, Dodd received a rousing reception from fans of both teams, playing 20 minutes to see out the 2-2 draw.
Speaking in an interview with the MEN, ‘Doddy’ explained the various aspects of his recovery, contracting pneumonia and developing pleurisy while in hospital, which he described as “probably the worst two weeks of my life.”
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Even after returning home, he detailed how he “was waking up trying to catch [his] breath… in a pool of sweat” and enduring pain akin to “drowning and being stabbed in the back at the same time”.
Having been fitted with the same device as the likes of Christian Eriksen and Daley Blind – who both collapsed following a cardiac arrest while still on the pitch – Dodd received a signed shirt from the midfielder back in November when he first returned to Broadhurst Park.
☺️ We had a very special guest at Broadhurst Park today as Adam 'Doddy' Dodd came to the game today, & he was presented with an FC shirt by manager Neil Reynolds, inscribed with the message
"To Adam, don't ever give up, Christian Eriksen" and signed
Dodd lost three stone while in hospital, suffering a broken rib and sternum following the intense period of CPR, meaning that he had to rebuild significant muscle mass on top of his normal period of recovery to stand a chance of playing football again.
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Nevertheless, he spent the rest of 2022 aiming to get back on the pitch in the New Year. Just seven days into January and the self-employed plumber achieved his goal and now, despite FC United’s most recent game being called off over the weekend, he is now back in contention for matchday squads.
Featured Image — FC United of Manchester (via Twitter)
News
Hundreds of staff at four Greater Manchester hospitals to strike AGAIN next week
Emily Sergeant
Another round of strikes has been called at a handful of major Greater Manchester hospitals.
Amid ongoing disputes following the first set of strikes at the end of last month, it has now been announced that more than 350 Northern Care Alliance Foundation Trust (NCA) employees – including nurses, clinical support workers and housekeepers – who are members of the union UNISON will once again walk out for three days next week.
According to the union, the dispute centres on the NCA’s use of an outside agency called NHS Professionals (NHSP) to manage overtime.
When covering staff shortages, workers are entitled to time-and-a-half pay – however in some cases, staff earn less than they would on a normal shift, and some have even been missing out on more than £80 per shift, the union added.
Operating theatre staff were previously on picket lines in June, and although an option to resolve the row was initially tabled by NCA bosses, this has now fallen through.
Hundreds of staff at four of Greater Manchester’s hospitals are set to strike next week / Credit: Stephen Andrews (via Unsplash)
This means that staff at Salford Royal Hospital, Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary, and Fairfield Hospital in Bury are walking out next week on Monday 14, Tuesday 15, and Thursday 17 September.
The union’s North West regional organiser, Kevin Dolan, said the trust had given ‘no indication’ that it’s willing to re-enter negotiations, adding that operating theatre services were ‘chronically under-staffed’ and staff were choosing to work extra shifts to cover shortages.
Ahead of the August strikes, the trust declared a critical incident to help it secure extra support and keep urgent surgery running, while also announcing that some procedures would have to be postponed.
Understandably, some disruption is expected at each of the hospitals on strike days.
But Gertie Nic Philib, who is the chief people and strategy officer at the Northern Care Alliance, said that the trust will do ‘everything we can to minimise the impact on patients’ and ‘maintain high standards of care and quality at all times.’
“We also have contingency plans in place for emergency situations,” they concluded.
Featured Image – Pxhere
News
Stockport man jailed for life after kidnapping and sexually assaulting teenage girl
Emily Sergeant
A Stockport man has been sentenced to life in prison after kidnapping and sexually assaulting a teenage girl on her way home from the library.
Paul Sharpe has been sentenced to life imprisonment with an eight-year minimum term in prison after being convicted of a number of offences when subjected a teenage girl to what police called a ‘terrifying ordeal’ that lasted several hours back in May 2026.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed that the victim had been studying at Sale Library before beginning her journey home with friends at around 5:50pm and contacting her parents at 6:10pm to let them know she was on her way.
Twenty minutes later, she spoke to her boyfriend on the phone and said she was approximately five minutes away from home, but that her phone battery was about to die.
This was the last contact received from the victim that evening.
While walking along Bradgate Road in Altrincham, the victim noticed a grey Ford parked nearby and a man wearing a high-visibility jacket pressing doorbells in the area.
As she walked past, Sharpe approached her from behind, placed her in a headlock and threatened to stab her if she did not get into his vehicle.
Concerned that their daughter had not returned home, the victim’s family contacted police at 9:22pm to report her missing, and officers immediately launched an investigation to locate her.
Over the next several hours, the victim was subjected to and placed in a number of terrifying situations.
Sharpe drove the victim to several locations across Greater Manchester and Cheshire, before police located and arrested him at around 3:40am on 19 May 2026.
Following his arrested, 56-year-old Sharpe was convicted of kidnap, committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence, sexual assault, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, threats with a bladed article, and administering a noxious substance with intent to injure, annoy or aggrieve.
“This was a terrifying ordeal for a young girl who was simply making her way home,” explained Detective Inspector Karl Perry, from GMP’s Criminal Investigation Department.
“Sharpe targeted a vulnerable victim, subjected her to hours of fear and intimidation, and went on to sexually assault her.
“The victim has shown immense courage throughout the investigation and court proceedings. Through her bravery and actions, she no doubt made it harder for Sharpe to carry out whatever acts he had planned.”
Danny Jones -
24th January 2023 
