Former Coventry City Academy graduate Matty Stenson hopes his football career continues on an upward curve after joining non-league neighbours Leamington.
The 24-year-old started out with the Sky Blues before being released and switching to non-league Hinckley United where he was a regular starter in midfield at Conference North level at just 18 years old.
His impressive performances attracted the attention of several Football League scouts, who kept a close eye on the youngster.
However, with a promising career ahead of him, Stenson developed a rare hip problem that threatened to end his career before it had even begun.
The then teenager braved a torrid time of hospital appointments and regular pain, doing everything he could to find a cure, only to be told by medical professionals that he may face the possibility of never kicking a ball again.
“It was tough,” Stenson explained.
“I saw about thirteen different specialists but none of them knew what was wrong. After two-and-a-half years I was offered an operation but was told that there was only a 50 per cent chance that it would be successful.
“It was a risk I was prepared to take because I was desperate to be back doing what I love, playing football.”
Thankfully for the Coventry-born player, the stars aligned in his favour and he got back into the game, signing for non-league Leicester Road in the summer of 2016.
Leicester Road manager Neil Lyne desperately needed a striker and then-midfielder Stenson put his name forward - showing his adaptability and raw passion just to play the game.
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He quickly found his form, remarkably, scoring over 50 goals in the tenth tier of English football to attract the attention of two Northern Premier League clubs before eventually deciding on a move to south-west Leicestershire outfit Barwell.
Having stepped up three divisions, the striker scored 20 goals in all competitions for Barwell last season.
His goal tally has been made even more impressive by the fact that he has been balancing his semi-professional football career with a job as one of the youngest qualified ground surveyors in the country.
The in-form striker put pen-to-paper on a contract with the Canaries in March – such was the high esteem in which he was held by his former manager Jimmy Ginnelly.
However, it did not deter National League North outfit Leamington from making their move this summer.
Stenson, who is understood to be highly regarded in non-league circles, including Leamington manager Paul Holleran, with many believing he is not too far away from national recognition in the form of either an England C call-up or a place in the 2019 intake of Jamie Vardy’s V9 Academy.
