THE DATE was December 8, 2012. Tom Walsh’s life was about to change forever.
At the age of just 16 years and 150 days old, he made his Rangers debut and in doing so became the youngest ever player to make a league appearance for the Ibrox club.
Tom Walsh on his debut for Rangers against Stirling Albion in 2012[/caption]
He would only make 13 appearances for Gers before being released five years later[/caption]
Injury issues followed him throughout his career, up to his last stop at Inverness[/caption]
Then on May 3, 2022 – almost ten years to the day – his life changed once again. Perhaps even more so.
It forced him to change his tune and now he’s readying himself for a new career in arock band.
Back on that day in May 2022, Walsh – now 25 and plying his trade for Inverness – went down in pain after just 19 minutes in his team’s play-off match against Partick Thistle.
The injury ruled him out of the second leg of the tie but that was the least of his worries.
Walsh hadn’t had his injury problems to seek between making his Gers bow and establishing himself as a key player in Inverness’ run promotion push that year.
Ankle and hamstring problems hampered his progress at Rangers in the season after he made his debut, at a time when he could have been taking his game to the next level.
He was ruled out for the 2013-14 season and went on loan to Stenhousemuir in a bid to regain some sharpness and rack up some minutes on the park.
A new contract from Gers came but the injury issues persisted. But he overcame another hamstring problem and scored his first goal for Stenny against Peterhead three weeks later.
Upon his return to Ibrox, Walsh featured frequently under Stuart McCall as the Light Blues qualified for the Championship play-offs, only to lose to Motherwell.
The following season Walsh was signed on loan by Dumbarton and after Rangers won promotion to the Premiership he found himself back in the second tier with St Mirren.
After six months in Paisley in which he scored four goals in 16 games, Walsh was released not long after returning to Rangers.
Now without a club, the midfielder looked around and ended up playing two games in the League of Ireland for Limerick before being snapped up by Dumbarton ahead of the 2018-19 campaign.
He had a fruitful season with the Sons in terms of avoiding injury, making 41 appearances and earning a move to Inverness where he would kick on and remind everyone of his talents.
That was despite breaking his foot in January 2019, missing eight games before returning to full fitness in March. For the 2018-19 season he scored six goals in 43 appearances across all competitions.
The following season he missed 12 games due to injury and at the culmination of a campaign disrupted by the Covid pandemic, he chose to sign for local team Ayr United.
Again, he struggled with injuries early on but eventually helped the Honest Men maintain their league status after a season battling relegation.
Walsh returned to Inverness in June 2021 on a two-year deal.
He would only be on the field for less than half of that.
Walsh suffered an ACL tear in the game against Partick and had to undergo surgery on that and his PCL. He was forced to wear a walking boot during his recovery and all told, he’s now spent 33 months out of football.
Just under a year ago, Walsh shared videos of himself training alone as he tried to find a new club. That search is yet to yield results but as of today, Walsh hasn’t officially retired. At least in writing.
As he worked on his fitness he became a personal trainer, working from a gym in Troon and ehen he wasn’t in the gym or spending time recuperating with family, he was likely jamming with his friends.
And those therapeutic garage and living room sessions have led him on a different path.
Walsh and three of his mates formed the Heavy Heads and the indie rockers are preparing for the release of their first ever single this week.
Walsh with his friends in the Heavy Heads band[/caption]
The song, titled Sam, will be released on Spotify on Friday.
In an interview with the Inverness Courier last year, after his contract with Caley Thistle had expired, Walsh revealed: “You hear stories about folk who get bad injuries and never play again, and as a young guy coming through you listen but you never think it will be you. Then it happens.
“Even just kicking a ball in the back garden with my nieces and nephews was really difficult. I wasn’t able to do that for the first year.
“It has been tough. I’ve coped because I’m lucky to have a good support network and a great family behind me. My girlfriend and friends have all helped keep me positive.
“It’s important to keep your brain occupied no matter what it is you’re doing whether that’s exercising in other ways, working or whatever your hobbies are.”
And that’s when the music kicked in.
Walsh said: “I’m into my music, so me and my mates have been jamming and playing, and stuff like that has been a great help because I’ve been able to get stuck in to something else.”
The 28-year-old posted a sample of the song on Twitter (X), and said: “Our first song, Sam is out on Spotify this Friday coming, March 7.
“Give us a follow, like or share if you fancy and hopefully you’ll enjoy the tunes!”
https://twitter.com/heavyheads_band/status/1896298556602109961
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