The Portsmouth academy graduate now making international history after cancer scare
A new landmark for the Crookhorn lad who came through serious health issues to play for Pompey.
He emerged from major knee surgeries, meningitis and a cancer scare to make the senior Pompey breakthrough.
No one can take those two senior Blues appearances away from Alfie Bridgman, as the academy graduate showed incredible resilience to step up through a lifetime of major challenges.
Landmark moment for Moneyfields after Bridgman’s Malta involvement
Bridgman clocked up two EFL Trophy outings against Peterborough United and Crystal Palace under-21s, as well as featuring on the 2022 pre-season training camp in Murcia under Danny Cowley.
And that time in southern Spain included an undoubted highlight, as the then third-year scholar scored at the Pinatar Arena in a 2-0 success over Qatar SC.
After being released by Pompey three years ago, Bridgman moved on to the likes of Fareham and Bognor before earning a move to Northern Ireland side Larne last summer.
He then returned to these shores with Moneyfields in January, but has now hit another overseas landmark as a result of his involvement with the Malta international set-up.
The 22-year-old has picked up four previous caps at under-21 level returning one goal, with his impressive Moneys form last term not going unnoticed after 12 finishes from 21 games in the Isthmian League South Central Division.
That led to the former Purbrook Park School student being selected for a training camp last month by coach Davide Mazzotta, with an outing coming against Moldova under-21s on Thursday.
Bridgman played 70 minutes in a 3-0 away reverse in Orhei - becoming the first Moneyfields player to pick up international recognition in the process.
It’s another memory for the Crookhorn lad, who looked like he would never have such experiences when growing up.
Father Glenn told The News of the issues Bridgman faced in a 2021 interview with The News, after being given the all clear from a cancer worry off the back of several previous issues.
He said: ‘It’s the same for every parent, you have to be strong, you can’t let your child see you are suffering for them.
‘We feared Alfie wouldn’t play again, especially with what he went through, but that has to remain behind closed doors, never around him.
‘You can’t show it. You’re fearing the worst, definitely, but you must try to stay positive with him, for his sake. Keep up his spirits, don’t let him see your concerns.
‘The injuries happened not long after signing for Pompey as an 11-year-old. Alfie snapped a cartilage in his knee while running on the grass at school. He wasn’t even playing football, just running.
‘It was a big operation. At first they wanted to carry out keyhole surgery, but couldn’t find the part of the cartilage which had come off, so had to cut him open and attach it back into place.
‘At the time, my wife was told by a specialist that it was unlikely Alfie would play a high level of football again. It was devastating.
‘He spent the next 12 weeks in a wheelchair, wearing a knee brace. Being so young they couldn’t risk him putting weight onto it, we had to push him around.
‘When he returned to football 18 months later, it wasn’t right. I could see something was very wrong, he was running with a limp.
‘A scan found that a bit of the cartilage had come off again, causing a sharp pain as it rubbed into the back of his knee. It required another operation.
‘In total, Alfie missed two years and three months of football through injury. He was a kid and that was taken away from him.
‘There was a real determination about him though, mentally he pushed himself through every setback.’