Player turned soldier escapes blast
Wednesday 03 February 2010
Stephen HealeyFORMER Swansea City and Welsh Premier player and now a Royal Welsh soldier, Stephen Healey has escaped unharmed after his vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan.
Lt Stephen Healey, 27, who played in the domestic league for Llanelli, Port Talbot and Cardiff Grange Quins, was in an armoured vehicle with nine others when it was struck in Helmand province by an improvised explosive device (IED).
Stephen, from The 1st Battalion, The Royal Welsh (The Royal Welch Fusiliers), told BBC News that the blast's force was incredible, but nobody was hurt as he was commanding a convoy from the turret of the lead vehicle when it was hit last month.
He said: "We were driving along and then suddenly I felt a massive explosion and got thrown up into the air by the blast.
"I fell back into the turret and then all the debris and dirt from the explosion rained down on my head.
"My first thought was for the blokes in the vehicle and I felt sick thinking what I would find below me.
"There were eight of my soldiers and an interpreter down there."
The centre-back was a Swansea City apprentice for two years before signing a two-year contract.
He made 46 (+4) Welsh Premier appearances, scoring twice, and was also registered with Bridgend Town.
After taking a sports science degree at Swansea University, he joined the Army, where he still plays football.