Just one year after being afraid for his life in a hospital bed, Brad Young was a member of the Aston Villa academy team that won the FA Youth Cup at Villa Park in 2021.
Brad Young, a former Aston Villa youth graduate, has shared his reflections on how he went from getting stabbed to being on the verge of winning three domestic trophies with his Welsh team, The New Saints.
The striker made his half-hour debut against Liverpool in the 4-1 FA Cup third-round loss in January 2021, and he went on to play 21 senior minutes for the Villains. For the assailant, it was a sad time since eight months before, he had experienced a near-fatal occurrence.
The attacker attempted to take his belongings, so Young, then 17 years old, was attacked and stabbed three times while visiting a park under Covid guidelines in May 2020. “The hospital didn’t know if I was going to live or survive,” he told the BBC, initially unaware that he had been stabbed until he noticed his blood-soaked tracksuit.
“After taking a punch, I fought back. Even the knife escaped my notice. Before I passed out, I was shouting that I had been stabbed when I dialled 999. When the ambulance arrived, my buddies had removed their coats and were holding the wound.
Later on, it was found that he had turned pale white because one of the stabs had punctured an artery through his buttocks. Because of how much he was sweating, he thought he was “under a shower.”
With 22 goals in 25 games, Young, at 21 years old, leads the Cymru Premier League in scoring and has already guided his team to both the league title and the league cup. But after the attack, there was a moment when he thought he might never be able to play football again.
He recalled, “They told my family at the time, ‘We don’t know what’s going to happen here.'” “I distinctly recall inquiring whether I would be able to resume playing football. I glanced at my mother and started crying when they stated they didn’t know.
Young was able to return in time for the next season, making his first-team debut and winning the FA Youth Cup with Villa—ironically, scoring the game-winning goal in the final at Villa Park against Liverpool—after requiring a three-liter blood transfusion.
His release from Villa was preceded by loans to Carlisle United and Ayr United in Scotland. This was last summer. In Sunday’s Welsh Cup final against Connah’s Quay, he and his side, The New Saints, have the opportunity to complete the Welsh treble. He joined the team in September.
Despite being asked to participate, the team made it all the way to the Scottish Challenge Cup final but lost to Airdrieonians 2-1 in the championship match. Nevertheless, Young has already overcome his worst obstacle.
He said, “I’ve used it as motivation.” “There are a lot of people that hate me, but I’ve used everything that happened as motivation to keep going and get better. I want to pick it up again since I’m in good health, fit, and doing well.
