Former Liverpool defender Andre Wisdom has signed for FC United of Manchester in the Northern Premier League, after a stabbing incident in 2020 put his professional career on hold
Andre Wisdom of Liverpool during the Pre Season Friendly match between Preston North End and Liverpool
Former Liverpool prodigy Andre Wisdom has signed for FC United of Manchester
(Image: Getty Images)
Former Liverpool defender Andre Wisdom has penned a deal with seventh-tier side FC United of Manchester.
The 32-year-old, who rose through the ranks at Liverpool and made his first-team debut under Brendan Rodgers in 2012, scoring against Young Boys in the Europa League, has joined the Northern Premier League side. Once tipped as Liverpool's future right-back after earning 37 caps for various England youth teams, Wisdom's career trajectory took a different path.
His progress at Anfield stalled as he was loaned out to Derby, West Brom, Norwich, where he featured in 34 Premier League matches, and Red Bull Salzburg, before making a permanent move to Derby in 2017.
Wisdom's career took an unexpected turn when he joined non-league Warrington Town and then Irish top-flight team Derry City following a stabbing incident in 2020 that disrupted his professional journey.
Now, the defender is on the move again, with FC United announcing his signing. He is expected to make his debut in Saturday's pre-season friendly against Rochdale, reports the Daily Star.
Despite his ties to Liverpool, Wisdom has joined a club founded in 2005 by dissatisfied Manchester United supporters protesting against the takeover by American businessman Malcolm Glazer.
Content cannot be displayed without consent
However, fans have welcomed him to the club, which is shaping up to be a competitive squad brimming with ambition for the upcoming season. The club recently announced that another former Premier League star, Adam Le Fondre, has extended his stay at Broadhurst Park.
Wisdom featured 22 times for Liverpool prior to embarking on a career beyond Anfield. However, in 2020, his struggles escalated dramatically as he was stabbed after leaving a Merseyside party during lockdown.
A Derby player at the time, Wisdom encountered a frightening ordeal when masked assailants attacked and stabbed him on his journey home from the gathering.
He candidly expressed to The Athletic: "I shouldn't have been there. First of all, because it was lockdown and no one should have been having parties, but second because I grew up seeing those types of incidents happen... you don't need to go to parties like that, where not everyone is going to be your friend."
Andre Wisdom of Derby County during the Sky Bet Championship match between Sheffield Wednesday and Derby County
Wisdom left Liverpool for Derby in 2017(Image: Getty Images)
In a harrowing account, Wisdom relayed how he endeavoured to protect himself whilst "desperately trying to avoid getting stabbed even worse than I did."
Sadly, he sustained multiple stab wounds to his posterior, left leg, chest and head. Despite the severity of the attack, Wisdom astonishingly managed to drive himself home, only then realising the gravity of his condition.
He recounted: "I checked my thigh and the muscle was almost hanging out of the wound. And I made a rookie mistake because I tried to push the muscle back in. That's when I started to go dizzy."
After surgery paved the way for a painstaking recovery, Wisdom briefly returned to Derby's line-up before a groin injury halted his progress, leading to his exit from the club in 2021.
Following a prolonged hiatus from competitive play, Wisdom finally resumed action in the sixth tier with Warrington Town, close to three years post-injury. He then signed for Derry City before his latest transfer.