November 8, 2025. Crewe substitute Omar Bogle scored a 93rd-minute goal to seal a 3-1 win over Shrewsbury.
For a striker who has scored more than 150 senior goals in his career, that one might not sound particularly significant, but to Bogle it might have been the most important of his career.
2025 has taken him to some dark places. An addiction to painkillers left him contemplating suicide.
Speaking exclusively to Sky Sports News, Bogle tells his story, describing his year from hell, his path to recovery and why sharing his struggle is so important.
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It started with a pre-season back fracture in 2024.
Bogle’s club doctor at Crewe routinely prescribed him painkillers to help alleviate what he described as the worst pain he’d ever felt.
“I could not walk, could not really move, could not sleep,” he says of the back pain. “When I did sleep, the pain would wake me up. The doctor gave me medication to help me sleep and take the edge off.
“One of the drugs I got was something I had before, so I was familiar with how it would make me feel. I was taking them for two or three weeks and then the pain started to ease.
“I got back to playing and training, but I was still getting shooting pains and nerve pains and still struggling to sleep. I started taking them again to help me. From there it was a slippery slope.”
Bogle began to source the drugs outside of the club. They were unaware of his growing problem.
“I got addicted fast, and I probably didn’t realise how reliant I was. As time went on I was taking ridiculous amounts. It kept going up and up. Every few weeks I would add another one on top.
“I didn’t tell anyone, and I knew they would have advised me not to. I also knew players that did the same thing, so because this was the first time I had actively taken drugs off my own back to get through games or sleep or training, I thought it was normal.”
I got addicted fast, and I probably didn’t realise how reliant I was. I didn’t tell anyone. I thought it was normal.
Omar Bogle
Omar Bogle says he can ‘dream again’ after a battle with painkiller addiction
‘I was in darkness’
Bogle’s mood and outlook were soon affected and he admits that he spiralled.
“It changed me as a person,” he says. “My decision-making was all over the place. I isolated myself from everyone. I would go home after training, close all the curtains, sit in the dark watching TV, be on my phone all day and not speak to anyone.
“I was in darkness, depressed, with suicidal thoughts. I do not think a day went by where I didn’t have suicidal thoughts.
“The thoughts came every day, at least once. The amount of drugs I was taking and where the addiction took me, I think subconsciously that is what I was trying to do. I hoped one day I would not wake up.”
I was in darkness, depressed. I do not think a day went by where I didn’t have suicidal thoughts. I hoped one day I would not wake up.”
Omar Bogle
Omar Bogle celebrates scoring for Crewe in January 2025
‘The doctors said I should be dead’
Fortunately for Bogle, somebody noticed.
He describes his agent Jake Speight as like family – and it was Speight who spotted the warning signs.
“My agent spoke to me when he realised I was back to pre-season in around 12 days and I was in no condition mentally or physically. When he looked at me, he could not see anything behind my eyes.
“I told him where I was at and he said we needed to get help. He contacted the PFA, who were unbelievable in how they helped and how quickly they responded. They proceeded to get me the help I needed and into rehab.
“Without that, I would have just got worse. I was going to keep taking more and more. My doses would have kept going up. I was not going to stop.
Bogle’s addiction was so deep, he had to first enter a detox centre so he could be weaned off the drugs before entering rehab.
“When I went into rehab and did assessments, the doctors said I should be dead and that I had probably overdosed numerous times.”
He describes going into rehab as “scary” but the process has helped Bogle turn his life around.
He came out of treatment in August and is back on the pitch, scoring in that game against Shrewsbury on his return and then twice in an EFL Trophy game against Burton.
“It has still taken time to physically get to where I need to be. I did not realise during my addiction how much it was taking a toll on my body.
“I can see forward again. I can set goals again. I can dream again.”
Bogle has praised Crewe for their support during this difficult period.
“The club probably came under scrutiny from supporters wondering where I was when pre-season started and games were happening.
“My addiction was affecting my performances and my temperament. I think it gave them clarity and context for why I was not at my best.”
The chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association, Maheta Molango, has told Sky Sports News that all players have a representative at their clubs that they can go to with any wellbeing concerns. Players have access to a QR code system that allows them to access support confidentially.
But Bogle, who believes other athletes are going through similar problems with addictions to painkillers, thinks telling his story in public has the power to help others in the same position.
“It helps to know someone else is going through it and you are not the only one,” he says.
“I am sure others in football and sport are going through it as well. In rehab you become aware of how big a problem it is.
“My message is: tell someone. When people are depressed, suicidal or in a dark place, the guilt and shame make it worse. We internalise it.
“It helps to know someone else is going through it and you are not the only one. You can find solace in that. So speak to someone trusted.
“Share it with someone close to you.”
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, please visit: https://www.sky.com/help/articles/viewersupport
