Eosinophilic Oesophagitis is a bit of a mouthful. Which is a little ironic.
A condition which causes an inflammation in the oesophagus and makes swallowing food particularly difficult, it had a debilitating effect on the career of Motherwell midfielder Sean Goss.

Given that the average professional player covers up to 11km a game the biggest surprise is that the 26-year-old has a career at all. Unable to fuel properly as he battled a condition he didn’t know he had, Goss relied on protein shakes as meal substitutes and slept for the bulk of the time he was not training or playing as his body, unable to fuel properly, sought out a recovery.

Surgery this summer placed a balloon into his throat to stretch it and open the passage for food to go down while there remains daily medication to treat the little known illness.

“It’s only the more I look back that I realise how much it affected me,” he said. “I had weight loss, I was feeling tired all the time. And that was making me get injured. I was missing out on meals. I had to have meal replacements, swapping them for protein shakes.

“I can feel a difference now. I’m slowly putting weight back on after having the operation. Every day I can feel a change in my body, I’ve got more life about me. After training, I’m not shattered when I get home. I don’t need to have a four-hour nap.

“I literally couldn’t swallow my food.”

If the physical effects are obvious in an athlete who cannot take on board sufficient calories, the mental health effects were just as difficult.

“It has massive side effects,” explained Goss. “At a team meal, I’d be thinking: ‘I hope I don’t choke here’. I didn’t want to make a scene in front of everyone. The fear of choking after you’ve been in hospital with it is quite scary.

“You eat every day and for football you need food. When I was having it, I didn’t realise how badly it affected me. I’d get home from training every day, close the curtains, sleep, try and have a bit of dinner then go back to sleep again.

“It definitely affected me. I had it at Rangers when I was there. It was something I kept to myself. I’d have a bit of banter with the lads about how slow I was eating. I’d be first in the canteen and last out. 

“I was always worried about making a scene so I’d need a litre bottle of water beside me.

“Basically, with every swallow I’d need to have a sip. If I got to my third sip and it wasn’t going down I knew I’d need to get to the hospital. I’ve always felt like I’m fit but back then it felt normal to have it. But you need to refuel your body to recover and I couldn’t do it. That’s why I got niggling injuries.

“My mum at home would tell me to go home on a Sunday for a roast dinner. But I’d still be sitting there an hour and a half later and it was stone cold. By that time, you’re not interested in food.”
Goss was in his late teens when he realised there was a problem but getting a diagnosis wasn’t straightforward.

“I was struggling for a few years with it but because it’s not well known I didn’t know where to go,” he said. “I mentioned it to the doctor a few times and he said he’d keep an eye on it. But it was only when I had a headache one day at QPR. I got two paracetamol, cut them in half but one of them lodged at the back of my throat. That’s when we knew I had to get it sorted. But it took me over a year to find out what it was after seeing different people.

“Eventually I got medication, three months worth for twice a day. That helped in the short term and I had that two or three times. But in the summer I had a dilation. They put a balloon down my throat to stretch my oesophagus.  We’re still not sure what causes it, we couldn’t get to the bottom of it.

“But now, I can’t stop eating! I’ll probably need the condition back at some point!”

A career that began at Manchester United and has taken in spells at QPR, Rangers, St Johnstone and Shrewsbury now has the chance to properly kick on at Fir Park. International football with Northern Ireland remains an ambition and there is a feeling that Motherwell could benefit from a fully fit Goss.

There is a return to Ibrox this afternoon with the midfielder relieved that his preparations revolve around the game and not the side-issues he battled for so long.

Rangers will be buoyed by the manner in which they dispatched Europa League favourites Borussia Dortmund from the tournament on Thursday night with Goss appreciative of a few former colleagues who shone against the Bundesliga side.

“This is definitely the best I have felt and the longest run of games I’ve had,” he explained. “It is about building on that now and playing even more games. 

“I think the only ones left are Ryan Jack, James Tavernier and Alfredo Morelos. Last year showed how far the club have come.

“Jacko is a great lad and there is something about him that keeps that team ticking. He wins the ball back and he can handle himself on the ball brilliantly. He adds that bit of something to the midfield they were missing.”
A few missing pieces of the jigsaw have fallen into place for Goss too. 

https://www.eosnetwork.org/ Is the registered charity for those suffering from Eosinophilic Oesophagitis for anyone who needs support or information.