FINE-TUNING the basics of his profession earned one Wiltshire osteopath the opportunity to fulfil a lifetime dream and be part of the England national football team.

Carl Todd has been overseeing the prevention of injury within the national team for 13 years after accepting the role prior to England’s World Cup campaign in Germany in 2006.

Based in Whitley, Todd combines his England responsibilities with working at either of his three clinics across Wiltshire.

It’s a profession that Todd, who also has clinics in both Corsham and South Marston, continues to learn after he recently completed a PhD in clinical science to add to his degree and masters in sports medicine.

But his passion for osteopathy first developed when working with the armed forces after leaving school.

“There was lots of physical activity involved there, so I had lots of small injuries in my younger years,” said Todd.

“Because of that I got interested in the subject.

“It has been a long process, but throughout that time I’ve been working and involved in the Swindon clinic.”

Four World Cups, two European Championships and 160 national games later, the former Swindon College teacher remains as passionate as ever about his role.

He was joined in Russia by a team including two physios, two masseurs, doctors and two strength and conditioning specialists.

While sitting on the bench amid England’s most successful World Cup since Italia ’90 proved inspiring, Todd admitted he experienced some of the longest minutes of his life.

He said: “It can feel like the longest 90 minutes of my life.

“When you’re sitting on the bench, there is no time to relax during the game.

“We are constantly observing players to see if any player is limping or stretching a part of their body often.

“We prepare the players for training, then we’ll assist with some activities during training and then there’s the recovery period.

“If there are any particular injuries or issues we then have to deal with that back at the hotel as well.”

Amid England’s World Cup run, the nation became swarmed with football fever - Three Lions topped the charts, waistcoat sales reportedly rose 35 per cent and an estimated 50,000 pints were thrown each time the nation scored.

But sensing that atmosphere more than 1,800 miles from home wasn’t as easy as fans may think, according to Todd.

He said: “If you’re not back home you don’t really get the feeling or caught up in the atmosphere.

“My wife and kids did, but when you’re living in the country with limited access to media you rely on social media for clips – we did see plenty of videos of people throwing beer over themselves and celebrating though.

“Gareth (Southgate) has brought a really good culture and belief to the national squad.

“There is now a team environment, it’s all been positive stuff.”

While osteopathy may seem a complex profession, Todd advised those aspiring to follow in his footsteps to simply learn the basics.

“Do the simple things really well, because that’s what gets results,” said Todd.

“That’s what will get you noticed. Trying every new piece of technology on the market will only last 18 months or so.

“Do the simple things really well, that’s the best advice I can offer.”