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DATE: FRI 19 AUG 2022   BY STEVE WHITNEY

Ilkeston Sign Player with Remarkable Background
Pitching In Southern League Premier Division Central club Ilkeston Town have signed defender Declan Thompson. 
 

The now 20-year-old has a remarkable story to tell, as he was diagnosed with Legg–Calvé–Perthes disease at the age of 5 and spent 18 months in a wheelchair.Legg-Calve-Perthes is a childhood condition that occurs when blood supply to the ball part of the hip joint is temporarily interrupted, and the bone begins to die. However, he overcame that to become a professional footballer! The son of former Sheffield United, Boston United and Kidderminster Harriers` midfielder Lee Thompson, Declan played as a youth at Sheffield Wednesday before being released at the age of 14. He began training with Northern Premier League Division One East side Stocksbridge Park Steels where his father was assistant manager, although could not play as he was too young. He registered with the league upon his 16th birthday in March 2018 and made his senior debut later that month.

To make an amazing turnaround in fortune, he was signed by Sheffield Wednesday on a two-year scholarship in the summer of 2018. Following his two-year scholarship, he signed a one-year professional contract in summer 2020 and made his senior debut in January 2021 in an Emirates FA Cup win over Exeter City. A one-year option was activated in his contract in May 2021, keeping him at the club until the summer of 2022 whereupon he was released.
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