Former West Brom academy star reveals battle with painkiller addiction
Sandwell-born striker Omar Bogle has revealed how an addiction to painkillers left him contemplating suicide.
The 32-year-old, a member of Albion’s academy as a teenager, has explained how he became dependent on drugs following treatment for a back injury last year.
He told Sky Sports: "It changed me as a person.
"My decision-making was all over the place. I isolated myself from everyone. I would go home after training, close all the curtains, sit in the dark watching TV, be on my phone all day and not speak to anyone.
"I was in darkness, depressed, with suicidal thoughts. I do not think a day went by where I didn't have suicidal thoughts.
"The thoughts came every day, at least once. The amount of drugs I was taking and where the addiction took me, I think subconsciously that is what I was trying to do. I hoped one day I would not wake up."
Bogle, who has scored more than 100 goals in nearly 350 senior professional appearances, suffered a back fracture shortly after signing for Crewe ahead of the 2024-25 season.
A routine prescription of painkillers from the club doctor followed but from there things spiralled, with the player sourcing the drugs from outside the club in order to deal with the pain.
"I got addicted fast, and I probably didn't realise how reliant I was,” he said. “As time went on I was taking ridiculous amounts. It kept going up and up. Every few weeks I would add another one on top.
"I didn't tell anyone, and I knew they would have advised me not to. I also knew players that did the same thing, so because this was the first time I had actively taken drugs off my own back to get through games or sleep or training, I thought it was normal."
Bogle eventually got help after speaking to his agent, Jake Speight, who contacted the PFA. Such was the depth of his addiction, he first had to enter a detox centre before going to rehab.
"When I went into rehab and did assessments, the doctors said I should be dead and that I had probably overdosed numerous times,” he explained.
Bogle came out of treatment in August and returned to playing last month, scoring three goals in his first two matches.
He said: “It helps to know someone else is going through it and you are not the only one," he says.
"I am sure others in football and sport are going through it as well. In rehab you become aware of how big a problem it is.
"My message is: tell someone. When people are depressed, suicidal or in a dark place, the guilt and shame make it worse. We internalise it.
"It helps to know someone else is going through it and you are not the only one. You can find solace in that. So speak to someone trusted.
"Share it with someone close to you."
