Exclusive: Rhys Williams recalls Aitor Karanka conversations, his Charlton loan spell and the end of his Middlesbrough career

Exclusive: Former Middlesbrough captain Rhys Williams recalls how his time at the club ended, his conversations with Aitor Karanka and returning to Australia.
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The moment he hit the ground at Barnsley’s Oakwell Stadium in January 2015, Rhys Williams knew what had happened.

After nearly 12 months of rehab to recover from an Achilles injury, the Australian defender was facing the prospect of another year on the sidelines and, as it turned out, the end of his Middlesbrough career.

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Boro fans may remember the scene when Williams took off his boot and slammed it into the turf after going down unchallenged.

Rhys Williams' last appearance for Middlesbrough came against Barnsley in the FA Cup.Rhys Williams' last appearance for Middlesbrough came against Barnsley in the FA Cup.
Rhys Williams' last appearance for Middlesbrough came against Barnsley in the FA Cup.

Remarkably, the injury wasn’t related to the problem he had suffered 11 months earlier, yet luck was against him.

“Even my surgeon said it was really unheard of, it’s just unlucky” Williams, now 32, tells the Mail during an in-depth chat.

"To rupture your Achilles once is quite uncommon, and then to do it twice on the same side in a different spot, it took me a while to get over it.

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"I didn’t want to speak to anyone for a while, I just wanted to get my head around it and see what my options were.”

Williams spent 11 and a half years at Middlesbrough but suffered several injury setbacks.Williams spent 11 and a half years at Middlesbrough but suffered several injury setbacks.
Williams spent 11 and a half years at Middlesbrough but suffered several injury setbacks.

After four seasons of trying to help Boro return to the Premier League, Williams’ two Achilles setbacks ultimately cost Williams a chance to be a part of Aitor Karanka’s 2016 promotion-winning side.

That was the year Williams left Teesside after 11 and a half years at the club, which included a spell as capian under Tony Mowbray.

Williams lost the armband shortly before Karanka’s arrival in November 2013, a decision which was tough to take.

Williams returned to Australia in 2016 when he signed for A-League club Perth Glory.Williams returned to Australia in 2016 when he signed for A-League club Perth Glory.
Williams returned to Australia in 2016 when he signed for A-League club Perth Glory.
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"When Mowbray left his assistant Mark Venus came in and took over for a couple of games,” Williams explains. "He took it off me straight away, that was his decision but ultimately it hurt me a lot.

"At the time I passed it onto Jonathan Woodgate, so not a bad person to pass it onto the career he’s had, a player I look upto and I still speak to him.

"To give it to him was a bit easier but to have it taken off me by an interim manager was a bit difficult.”

Williams played in several positions during his time at Boro, including at right-back and in central midfield, but felt he could offer more in the heart of defence.

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"I had a conversation with Karanka when he came in and it wasn’t what we both thought it would be,” Williams reveals.

“I said to him I want to fight for the central defender position, I don’t really want to be playing right-back because it’s not my strongest position and can’t really help the team in that position.

“That’s where we disagreed, as it so happened I got a chance at centre-back and did really well until another injury came.”

Karanka’s spell at Boro was an exciting time for the club as the Teessiders reached the 2015 play-off final before winning promotion to the Premier League a year later.

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Yet Williams was forced to watch from afar and didn’t feel part of that successful side.

"I feel like Karanka got backed really, really well by the chairman and the board,” Williams recalls. “When you see some of the big names come in for a Championship team, Gaston Ramirez, David Nugent, players like that was amazing.

"But I missed all that, I was there at the start before he started doing that. I was injured and you are not really around the team as much.

"You are not in there with the team training every day with the banter, doing different hours and it takes its toll mentally.

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"I was so happy to see the boys doing well in the league but to not be a part of it, there was also a lot of jealousy, to be at the club for so long and not be a part of the success they were getting was really difficult.”

Thankfully Williams did recover from that second Achilles injury and returned to fitness in January 2016.

Yet he never felt there was a chance he could play a part in Boro’s promotion-winning campaign, and was instead loaned out to Charlton, where he made just three appearances.

"It was a really, really unsuccessful loan,” admits Williams, who returned to Australia to play for Perth Glory at the end of that season.

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"Even before Charlton and after Charlton I was fit but I wasn’t in any squads and you know the writing is on the wall a bit. It just wasn’t meant to be.

“When my contract was running out I went in to see the gaffer to say I’ve had an offer from Perth Glory, I wanted to give it a go and he had no qualms about it.

“He was happy for me to do whatever I needed to do. After my second Achilles I think that was it for my Middlesbrough days.”

After a year at Perth, Williams spent a season with Australia’s most successful side Melbourne Victory, before signing for Saudi Arabian club Al Qadisiyah FC in 2018.

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"Going to Australia first was amazing,” says Williams. I just needed to enjoy my football again and I really enjoyed it.

“After that I got an offer from Saudi Arabia and saw the league growing, I’ve always wanted to play in a non-Western country so I thought it was a good opportunity.

“I want to stay here as long as possible, I really do love it here. My family is settled here, I had my daughter here, my son goes to school here and it’s amazing.

Williams admits he did think his career was over after suffering that injury at Barnsley nearly five years ago.

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The Aussie is therefore thankful for the opportunities he’s enjoyed since, even if his Boro career was cruelly cut short.

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