Craig Gordon: From death to World Cup greatest man

In March this year, Craig Gordon traveled to London to see a chiropractor, Osamah Jannon, who had not covered up his concerns about the 43-year-old’s treatment to correct a neck injury.

“You’ve read the information leaflet,” Jannoun said to the injured Hearts and Scotland goalkeeper.

“You could be paralyzed, you could die…”

From there to here – preparing for the World Cup in Charlotte, North Carolina, which seemed like an impossible dream just a few months ago.

Behind-the-scenes footage of Gordon talking to Jannon football icons, BBC Scotland’s documentary about Gordon’s life and times, available on BBC iPlayer from Wednesday at 06:00 BST. It is by turns emotional, boring and inspiring.

Gordon says his entire career has been a series of comebacks, many struggles against the odds.

A series of serious injuries — ankle problems, broken arms, broken legs, knee surgery, neck and shoulder problems — missed an estimated 1,975 days of football, or about 200 games. In the year In 2012, he was diagnosed with patellar tendonitis, a career-threatening condition that kept him out for two years.

He visited specialists in Sweden and Spain, underwent three operations and visited a psychologist because the club at the time – Sunderland – thought the pain that put him in such trouble trying to climb the stairs or walk down the street might be in his head. It wasn’t.

A surgeon advised Gordon to retire. He decided to continue. He did not play any football from 2012 to 2014. He was a forgotten man, repeatedly thrown into the nightmare of rehabilitation and hope.

“I think I might have tried and hid it,” he says of the frustration caused by all the injuries. “There are definitely times when I’ve cried because of an injury. I probably won’t show it to anyone else.”