IT was a case of right place at the wrong time for Matt Jansen in an all-too-brief brief spell with Wanderers in 2006.

The striker once coveted by Manchester United, and only robbed of an England cap because of a stomach bug the night before a planned debut in 2002, actually made just seven appearances in a Whites shirt.

He admits the brevity of his stay owed much to his loss of confidence after a horrific motorcycle crash four years earlier almost took his life and an inability to deal with many of the mental pressures of returning to the standard that saw him play at the highest level of the Premier League.

But, rather than rue the cameo stay with Wanderers, Jansen says it taught him so much about his recovery after the crash that resulted in him being in a coma for six days, working with a team managed by Sam Allardyce and focusing on the psychological, as well as physiological, side of football.

Jansen said: “I went through some really dark times after the accident and found it hard to regain my confidence – I was out for almost nine months.

“I kept thinking ‘why me?’ “I was out of the spotlight after being firmly in it for so long.

“I came back, scored in my first match back for Blackburn, and still played at a high level for four seasons but, if I am honest, I found it hard to recapture the same form.

“I joined Bolton in 2006 and enjoyed working under Sam Allardyce.

“He had a good team of staff around him there and looking back, it probably started me off in dealing with the mental side of coming back from the crash.

“It taught me how powerful the mind is and I learnt a lot of positive things.

“He put a lot of faith into sports science and one aspect was having psychologists around and it was all very thorough.

“At the time, I could not get the same feeling for football back or my confidence but Sam was great with me.

“He had called to try and help me get back and while I did not play many games, I did enjoy my time at Bolton.

“After that I made comeback after comeback but it was hard.”

The impact of the motorcycle accident in Rome 11 years ago curtailed a career that had seen Jansen lauded as one of the brightest young English prospects.

Having trained with Manchester United after making the grade with home-town club Carlisle, Jansen surprised many by choosing to join Crystal Palace instead in 1998.

But regular senior football for the Eagles secured another big move to Blackburn 12 months on and Jansen went on to enjoy the best years of his career up the road at Ewood Park, albeit marred by his accident.

That aside, though, does Jansen ever regret turning down the chance to grace Old Trafford?

“Not really,” he said. “It is all hypothetical looking back.

“I was a confident lad at the time and I think I would have made a good go of it at United.

“But I chose Palace because I wanted to keep playing first-team football and not spend time playing for the reserves and I had a decent career.

“The big disappointment was what happened with England.

“I had played for the Under-21s and was in the senior squad and Sven-Goran Eriksson took me to one side before a friendly against Paraguay to tell me I would start the next day.

“Unfortunately, I had a stomach bug on the day of the game and could not play.”

Jansen never got that elusive senior cap but admits he is lucky to be alive the accident and thankful for the career he did have with the best years at Blackburn including a goal in the League Cup final at Cardiff in 2002.

After Wanderers he did try his luck at several clubs, including David Beckham’s LA Galaxy, before hanging up the boots full-time.

And life is good at present for the 35-year-old who has rediscovered his love for the game working alongside his former Rovers team-mate Garry Flitcroft at Evo-Stik Premier Division side Chorley.

Flitcroft, who is manager of the Magpies, contacted Jansen while he was in charge at Leigh Genesis and took him to Victory Park in 2010.

Now his playing outings are few and far between but he enjoys the coaching side.

Jansen added: “We are doing okay this season and got close to the play-off places.

“I only make a few appearances now; I am more involved in the coaching and I enjoy it.

“I am doing my badges at present and going for my UEFA B licence.

“I am enjoying life at the minute and it is thanks to Flicker (Flitcroft) I am back in the game.”

Still living in the area, Jansen keeps an eye on how the Whites are faring under another former Palace striker Dougie Freedman.

And he hopes they can stay in the play-off spots in their final match against Blackpool.

He said: “Dougie Freedman is doing well there and they have a good shout at the play-offs which is more than can be said for Blackburn.

“I would like to see them get back up – there are a lot of good people working at the club.”