AS FOOTBALL fans across England start making plans for the World Cup next summer Corsham-based osteopath Carl Todd knows he has already got his seat on the plane sorted.

Todd, 43, will be joining up with the England squad for next year’s finals, where he will be on hand to provide regular support for Rooney, Gerrard and the team.

As well as running the Carl Todd Clinic in Corsham he spends two days a week working with Chelsea Football Club, and has been part of the FA set-up since 2005.

Last Wednesday he was on hand at Wembley as the team secured qualification in a 2-0 victory over Poland, his 98th international game.

He said: “There’s a lot of pressure going out to major tournaments, you work closely with the team and we have to work hard.

“I get on well with all the players, as you end up spending a lot of time with them, but at the end of the day you are still a professional, and it’s important to keep your distance as part of the patient-practitioner relationship.”

He has been away with the team to major tournaments in South Africa, Poland and Germany, as well as working with a host of other top-flight athletes.

He said: “It’s not just football; at the last Olympics I worked with the men’s and women’s basketball team, which was a great experience.

“I probably wasn’t such a football fan when I first started, but the more I have been involved in it the more I have grown to enjoy it, as I get to see the same players as they come through the system.”

Todd lives in Box, but is shortly to move to Whitley near Melksham with his wife and business partner Melanie and their three sons. He will fly out to the team’s base in Brazil next year as part of an eight-person medical team.

He said: “There are two doctors, two physios, myself, and three masseurs.

“I don’t know how long we’ll be out there; we stay as long as the team does. You could be at a quarter final in Brazil one day, and then be driving back down the A4 the next, but hopefully it will last a while this time.”

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