Lionheart: Bagan defender Seaborne's long battle to recover from life-threatening wounds

DANIEL SEABORNE, the new Mohun Bagan signing, comes with a strong physique and a commanding presence; and he can be the defensive marshal that the Mariners need to replace the hard-working Luciano Sabrosa.

But not many here know that a big part of the fighting spirit he brings to the pitch have been shaped by some hard, trying life incidents; especially the one that struck him at a pivotal point in his career, and threatened not only to take away his ability to play football but also his life.

It was back in September 2011, when Southampton had begun their season in the Championship after gaining promotion from League One. Seaborne was a first team regular and had already made 4 appearances for them in the league. The team was looking good, and there was a good chance that if they managed to maintain their consistency they would earn a promotion to the Premier League at the end of the season (which they eventually did), and Daniel was excited to play a signficant role in that. 

But tragedy happened when one night, during a visit to a nightclub, Daniel got caught in an ugly brawl. He was assaulted, beaten up badly, and left in the adjacent ground bleeding when his attackers thought he was dead.

He was admitted to the hospital with severe injuries, especially on his head. It was a life threatening situation, and he had to be put on a life support system for 10 days.

But although his life was saved, he injuries left him almost crippled, and the doctors doubted if he would ever make a full recovery.

In an interview with Daily Record, Seaborne said that it was the toughest battle of his life,

"The medical people said I wouldn’t play football again. I was told that if I did somehow manage to play football again then it wouldn’t be at the level I had been playing at. I didn’t accept that so I rushed myself back in a bid to prove them wrong."

But the long painful months spent at rehab slowly nursing himself back to full health wasn't the end of the struggle. The incident, he admitted, left him scarred, and he could no longer enjoy the sport like he used to,

"I wasn’t right, I had a couple of oan spells and basically fell out of love with the game. That’s me being completely honest as I like to think of myself as an honest person. I didn’t enjoy it and it wasn’t the same. I had a long conversation with my family about what I should do."

Southampton made it into the top division but Daniel could not be a part of it. His struggle continued as he went through his loan spells at Charlton and Bournemouth. 

Daniel found it hard to enjoy the daily training and the intense immersion that professional football demanded like he used to before the injury. But despite all the difficulty, he refused to give up and stuck to the grind. And at long last, he slowly began to regain the rush, the satisfaction of it all that made him love the game.

He spent two good seasons at Coventry City, slowly finding his rhythm again. He then moved to the Scottish Premier League side Patrick Thistle, and by now he was feeling like his old self. He had made peace with the past and was ready to move on with his career,

"The injury is something that just happened and I can’t change it now. I decided to just get on with it and I set myself goals by aiming to dismiss the negative things people were saying. If someone says I can’t do something then I want to do it. The nightclub incident was a bump on the road and I just want to get on with it."

It was a stellar will and determination not to give up that brought Seaborne back into the game. And now that he is about to join Mohun Bagan, his experience and never-say-die attitude may be just the injection of spirit that the rather young Mohun Bagan defence needs ahead of the CFL campaign, and going into the main challenges of the season in I-League and AFC Cup.