Wolves blog: Carl, we are here for you
When you think of Carl Ikeme, you think of the words loyalty, strength, humour and down-to-earth...writes Wolves blogger Tom Tracey.
To hear that he has been diagnosed with acute leukaemia is utterly devastating.
When something like this happens, colours, divisions and differences are swept aside in favour of uniting in support for the suffering party.
Over the past five seasons, Carl has cemented his place as Wolves’ number one.
He is a player who you could never imagine leaving Wolves – after nine spells out on loan he could have been forgiven for thinking his Wolves career would never take off.
But he has defied the odds and racked up 200 appearances for the club – and we are all behind him in the battle to get back between the posts.
You only have to watch clips of his penalty saves or at the final whistle in important wins for Wolves to see how much it all means to him. His celebrations are always fantastic to see.
He had a superb season in League One, keeping 22 clean sheets and being named in the PFA team of the year.
Back in January he had a man of the match performance in the shock FA Cup win away at Stoke.
When on the pitch, he is always consistent and rarely makes a mistake.
The last few years have seen him cement his place in the Nigeria squad, winning ten caps.
In interviews, on social media, when meeting fans for podcast recordings or selfies, Carl is a fantastic and friendly character.
Now it is time for us to repay him and support him and his family in his battle, like we did for Jody Craddock’s son Toby.
Toby was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in 2012.
In what must have been an extremely difficult time for the Craddock family, Jody was offered an additional year contract at Wolves, having been heading out of contract.
After completing ten years at Wolves, his testimonial was fittingly finished when Craddock, who had switched to Sunderland’s side in the second half, gave away a penalty.
On came his three boys, including Toby, to give Wolves the win.
The news shocked everyone at Wolves and the news of Toby’s remission was heart-warming and relieving.
Stiliyan Petrov was diagnosed with the same disease in 2012, and fought his way past it with the footballing world rallying round him.
He has reached out in support of Carl, telling him on Twitter: “Stay strong buddy, you will win this battle no doubt about it, be strong and believe.”
Carl is contracted at Wolves until 2020, so thankfully he doesn’t have to worry about anything other than his battle – although had he had a shorter deal, Wolves would have undoubtedly looked after him anyway.
There is no doubt about the fact Carl could not be part of a better club in this situation – they will do everything and anything they can, and more, to help him.
He will always be a Wolves hero and well-loved character.
He has shown himself to be extremely strong and resilient throughout his career. There is no reason why that should falter now.
Football pales into insignificance now, but you are more than capable of coming out of this with another clean sheet.
The Wolves family is all behind you Carl. Out of darkness cometh light.
