Children around the world aspire to represent their country at a World Cup, but only a luck and very talented few get to pull their team's shirt over their head and walk down the tunnel.

The Lionesses' historic win at the Euros earlier this year and the Three Lions' World Cup 2022 campaign will inspire more youngsters than ever to lace up their boots.

And on the surface, 22-year-old Conor Gallagher ’s surprise appearance in Gareth Southgate's England squad is no different. The talented player was scooped up by Chelsea ’s academy when he was just eight and he has been touted as a high-class prospect for many years.

Conor Gallagher has been training with Chelsea since he was eight years old (
Image:
Getty Images)

After loan spells at Charlton, Swansea and West Brom, Gallagher enjoyed a breakout season at London rivals Crystal Palace in 2021/22. His eight goals and four assists helped Palace to a 12th place finish; marking him out as one to watch in Chelsea’s squad this season.

During his time at Palace, he was called up to the England senior squad for the first time before making his debut against San Marino. On the back of three more caps, he was selected by Gareth Southgate for the World Cup 2022 squad.

None of this was ever guaranteed, however, as a knee injury threatened to end his career before it had even begun. In his early days at Chelsea, he was afflicted by a disease brought on by puberty which stunted his ability to run and put precious pro deals at risk.

"I started to have problems with my knees as I was growing up and at times, I was really struggling to run which is quite a blow when you want to be a midfielder as I always have," the midfielder wrote for England Football.

"I’ve since learned that it's actually a common issue that a lot of young people have growing up, called Osgood-Schlatter disease. I had it quite severely for a few years and it really affected my football at the time."

Gallagher's knee injury threw his future in football into question (
Image:
Javier Garcia/REX/Shutterstock)

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Osgood-Schlatter disease occurs when teenagers bones, tendons and muscles are growing during puberty but at different rates. This puts strain on the knee as the patellar tendon pulls on the shinbone and causes inflammation and pain, preventing excessive sport or activity.

He added: "I couldn’t run or sprint properly, which means you won't be as effective in games, but Chelsea were brilliant, they really believed in me and I was able to come back stronger.

"I had to change my position a little bit in games, I moved out from the middle to the right where I didn’t need to be as athletic, but eventually I grew through it and I was able to kick-on."

Even though he was able to continue playing, Gallagher's future in the sport was still uncertain, he explained: "I was concerned at the time though, because a lot of the boys were being offered scholarships and pro deals so I was nervous for obvious reasons.

"I was eventually offered a scholarship, while all the other boys got a pro deal, so I was at the back of the pecking order at that stage and had a lot of work to do and that was what I did."

Gallagher grew out of the pain in his knee, as many do, and was able to push forward in the sport he loved so much. However, trouble arose again when playing with England MU19s in 2018 and he felt his heart beating "really fast for no apparent reason."

Ignoring it at the time, he then re-joined Chelsea for pre-season and suffered from a dizzy spell, prompting heart checks and even minor surgery to correct his arrythmia. Since then his health has been in tip top shape and the young player is ready to take on the World Cup as part of England's squad.

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