From Keele University to a career in professional football

Hi, my name is Lucy Burrows, and I’m the First Team Physiotherapist for the men’s team at Port Vale Football Club.

When I was at Keele, I studied Physiotherapy. I was at Keele from 2021 until 2025. I did the MSci route, so the Integrated Master’s in Physiotherapy.

I came to Keele a little bit later, after being a Personal Trainer for four years before starting Physiotherapy. I had a personal accident myself, which meant that I wanted to go down the physiotherapy route. Having a sporting injury led me to being here, really.

Joining Keele later was actually really easy. The commute and the kind of responsibilities that the lecturers allowed me to have early on made it quite easy to tailor my learning around my other commitments as well, like work and family life.

I later went on placements with the people who actually helped rehabilitate me, and I also then came to Port Vale as part of one of my placements. I’m now here today.

My favourite bit is seeing a player return. So, if I’ve looked after somebody and they’ve been under my care, it’s watching them then get back out on that field.

I personally loved my time at Keele University. I honestly got on so well with the lecturers. They were so supportive from start to finish.

The campus is really, really beautiful and really homely for me, especially with the countryside and the setting. I also had great colleagues during my time there.