Ex-Shrewsbury Town loanee opens up on injury hell and considering retirement
Former Shrewsbury Town striker Josh Kayode revealed he considered retiring from football during a two-and-a-half-year period ravaged by injury.
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Kayode made seven appearances for Town in the first part of the season after signing on a season-long loan from Rotherham but then returned to his parent club in the January transfer window.
The 24-year-old has gone through an injury nightmare in recent times. He made just nine appearances in 2023/24, and he made 10 in the 2022/23 season.
During his spell in Shropshire, he spent four months on the sidelines with a calf injury.
“I have had this conversation with my dad so many times,” Kayode said. “There have been times where I have been like you know what, let's pack it in.
“For some reason, it has just happened over and over again. It is just about having mental strength. Without my mum, dad and little brother - I don’t know where I would be right now.
“I have even packed in Twitter and all of that. We are footballers, we do go on, we do look at it sometimes, and you think if only they knew what was going on.”
Since returning to South Yorkshire, Kayode has played six times for Steve Evans, including coming on as a substitute in the 76th minute of the 1-1 draw at the weekend against Exeter.
“No one understands it unless you have been through it,” he continued. “It has been a tough two-and-a-half years. I do not think anyone could really get what I have been through personally.
“It has been hard, but I have got good people around me to help me get through the tough times.
“Even thinking back on it is a bit crazy because you go through stages where you feel like you are finally getting there, and I do my shoulder again, and I am out for four months.
“Then I do quad, and I am out for five months. Then you get the whole injury-prone tag. But it is like no one understands what is going on.
“If you have good people around you, then you can get through anything.
“They are freak accidents, from the outside looking in, if you don’t really understand what is going on you would think ‘This kid is injury prone.’
“But, they are things that would never usually happen to the next player beside you, and I have been a bit unlucky really - that is all it is.
“Now I am back fully fit, coming on and showing everyone what I can do, I want to keep it going.”
Shrewsbury are not in League One action this weekend due to the international break. They make the trip to St Andrew's to take on Birmingham City a week on Saturday.
