Reading books has helped me through injury - Colwill
Chelsea's Levi Colwill is back in partial training after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in August
- Published
From the St Mary's estate in Southampton, where several of his family members still live, to becoming a Club World Cup‑winning England international, Chelsea's Levi Colwill has had time recently to reflect on his journey.
The 23‑year‑old has been out for seven months after surgery to repair an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury - the most serious setback of his career to date - and has been managing that enforced pause through books.
It has given him space to think about life away from the pitch.
"Because I'm using less energy day‑to‑day, I find it harder to switch off at night," Colwill told BBC Sport.
"Reading helps me wind down. I put my phone away, stay off social media, turn the TV off and read."
Colwill says he prefers self‑improvement books and named Atomic Habits by James Clear as a recent read - a book he says "didn't help me win the Club World Cup but maybe made a one or two percent difference in helping me build small routines when training".
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Colwill has since taken a very small stake in a digital reading service, which offers 1,000 books free to children.
The service is designed to address a decline in reading, after The Natural Literacy Library found only one in five children read daily and only one in three say they like reading in their spare time. The rate of decline is higher for boys than girls.
Colwill says his childhood experiences encouraged him to get involved.
"I knew I wanted to be a footballer and nothing was going to distract me," he said.
"I had good parents who kept me on the right path and away from trouble."
As Barcelona winger and former Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford did with his campaign for free school meals in 2020, Colwill hopes to champion a service he believes can make a meaningful difference.
"When I've been injured, I've stayed away from social media," Colwill added.
"But this is something I believe in, so I want to be out there and make sure as many schools sign up and take it on."
Colwill has returned to what head coach Liam Rosenior describes as "partial training" with Chelsea's squad before their Champions League meeting with Paris St‑Germain.
