Cometh the hour, cometh the union. Ian Chapman will forever be grateful to the Professional Football Association who came to his rescue when he hit rock bottom.

The former Albion player's world fell apart on August, 10 1997, when he suffered an injury which ended his career playing for Gillingham reserves.

At the age of 27 it was devastating. The career he had dreamed about as a wide-eyed eight-year-old was over before its time.

There is no overestimating the effect it can have. Some in a similar position to Chapman were so low they took their own lives. To compound Chapman's woes he had a growing family to support and a mortgage to pay for on his semi in a quiet cul-de-sac in Woodingdean.

But the PFA came up with the financial support to tide him over and, allied to his get-on-with-it attitude, he has come smiling into the light out of a dark tunnel.

He said: "The PFA have been excellent. When I stopped I had bills to pay. As a footballer in the lower divisions you don't earn vast fortunes. A few hundred a week is a good living wage to keep you going week to week but not in the long term.

"It was at the time Stan Collymore was complaining about how stressed he was. Earning around £15,000 to play football? That's not stress. I had a wife, kids and a mortgage. That is a massive pressure.

"It was my hour of need and the PFA were there for me and I will always thank them for it."

The PFA initially paid for the key-hole surgery he underwent in March, 1998.

He got the equivalent of half his wages from the union to cover domestic bills as he struggled on for a further six months to save his career.

They then stumped up a lump sum of £15,000 and a further "smaller sum" as part of a pension plan which allows Chapman, his wife Tracey and daughters Lucy, Jade and Rosie to pay for a weekend break every year.

"The PFA have been excellent. I used to drive them mad, particularly Brendan Batson, with daily phone calls.

"I remember after the operation that I answered the door on my crutches to receive a bill for the operation. The PFA got onto it straight away and paid it. "

Chapman admitted that when he was at Albion he paid scant attention to the club's PFA representatives like Garry Nelson who now worked full-time for the union.

"When you go into football that is all you think about. You think it'll last forever.

"It doesn't cross your mind that you will get an injury.

"I went to the union meetings at the club with Garry there and to be honest I didn't listen. I just wanted to play football."

Chapman advises any young player to recognise the protection, through welfare, advice and education, that the PFA can offer its members straight away.

"Professional football is a small world. If a club has about 20 apprentices it is likely only about two of them are going to make it through as a pro.

"What happens to the other 18? The PFA comes in and helps them.

"To be told at such a young age that you are not wanted, as well as having your career cut short by injury, is hard, but the union helps you re-train to make it easier to re-adjust.

"As an apprentice I was on a day release to do catering at Albion and I got my City and Guilds, but I didn't think much about anything else other than playing. I would not adopt that attitude now."

It is why he backs the efforts of Gordon Taylor and his colleagues to get a bigger slice of the TV money which is at the heart of a dispute between the union and the Premier League that could lead to a strike.

Chapman gingerly stretched out his left leg as he sat in his living room.

"It's as stiff as a board this morning," he said. "I had training at Whitehawk (where he is manager) and it aches."

It is the legacy of that day in Wycombe.

"I'll never forget it. No one was near me and I just twisted my leg in the ground and snapped a cruciate in my left knee.

"It was ever so painful and then it just felt numb. I tried rehab, but had to have the operation.

"I tried to keep going by playing for Brighton reserves but after each game the pain was still there.

I had to accept it was over. It was ironic because I hardly missed a game for Albion and then my first serious injury finished me off.

"I know I can never go back and that is hard to deal with, although I only think about it on certain days now."

Chapman, now 31, has turned his experience in to a positive.

"It forces you to change your priorities. Life is great now. I can spend more time with my family and do more of the things I want to do."

He is currently a house husband after quitting a sales rep job he had for two years with a toileteries firm last week.

Wife Tracey works for an insurance firm which means Ian has plenty of time to spend with his three young children.

Chapman is unsure about his next professional move, but whatever happens he wouldn't hesitate to contact the PFA for advice.