SIX months ago, a freak accident during a match left a young Gwent footballer three hours from death.

Swansea City youth team player Rhys Williams, 16, of Blaenavon, needed a life-saving operation after suffering serious internal injuries in a clash with his goalkeeper.

But now Rhys has made an amazing recovery. He is back on the football field and in training for the first time since the accident.

"All I wanted to do was concentrate on getting fit and back to playing football," Rhys said yesterday.

"I never gave up because it's all I've ever wanted to do. I never thought about packing it in."

The freak accident happened in February in a match against Torquay. Rhys can still remember the tackle that almost cost him his life.

He said: "The ball came over, I went to head it and I got a nudge in the ribs from our goalie. As I fell to the floor I had a huge pain in my ribs and was being sick. I knew something was wrong."

After being airlifted to Swansea's Morriston Hospital, Rhys' condition deteriorated rapidly. The impact had crushed one of his bowels. His father David Williams, a 48-year-old self-employed electrician, said: "The surgeons told me that if he didn't have an operation within three hours he was going to die.

"It was a terrible time for the family, but he pulled through and made an amazing recovery."

His mother Janice, 47, said she wasn't keen to have Rhys back playing football after the accident.

"But he loves it so much there was nothing I could do to stop him," she said. "It's his life."

Rhys thought the accident may have been the end of his playing days, but while recovering in hospital, he was awarded a two-year scholarship with Swansea City.

Rhys now lives in Swansea and hopes to make the club's adult team if he succeeds in his scholarship.

He has already won the praise of the club's president, Professor David Farmer. In a letter to Rhys, Professor Farmer congratulated him on his determination. "You have a lot going for you. Keep positive."