Private performance coach Tom King hits back at Paul Heckingbottom over the blame for an injury to Daniel Jebbison.
The Preston North End manager publicly criticised a personal trainer after loanee Daniel Jebbison, who is said to have sustained an ankle injury during a private fitness session, sidelining him for about a month.
Heckingbottom, in a BBC Radio Lancashire interview, expressed frustration over external trainers’ lack of accountability, noting they promote their work but face no consequences for injuries.
He cited a similar issue with goalkeeper Freddie Woodman and banned Preston players from such sessions, emphasising that the club bears the financial burden of injuries while trainers profit.
Bromley manager Andy Woodman, Freddie’s father, defended professional strength and conditioning coaches in a tweet, suggesting the use of qualified professionals.
‘Unprofessional and untrue’ – private performance coach Tom King has responded to criticism from Preston Manager Paul Heckingbottom, who blamed him for an injury to forward Daniel Jebbison.@pnefc #PNEFC #PNE
🔗https://t.co/G0lmUt8k8C pic.twitter.com/HgVl8NczrQ
— Training Ground Guru (@ground_guru) August 13, 2025
Tom King, who before setting up KPI, worked for Liverpool for five years, said: “He (Jebbison) has been working with a fella called Tom King. It’s an accident, I get it, but it’s not happening any more with any Preston players. These guys work with the players and post their work all over social media and want to promote their business and are happy to take the money.
“They don’t give us any money back when they injure the players in their sessions. They’ll not be posting on social media that Jebbo’s out for a month, so I’ll tell everyone that when they work with players they can put them out as well.
“To be honest, I’ve been sitting on this for a couple of days and initially planning to ignore the situation as a whole,” he said. “But considering the recent press involvement and the potential negative implications – not only for my business and my staff members but also for my credible colleagues in similar fields, who work so hard – I feel something needs to be said.
“The comments made surrounding an incident involving our client and my close friend Daniel Jebbison at KPI are not only unprofessional but also untrue. Having worked in Premier League football for several years prior to setting up KPI, I understand the frustration and emotion when a player is injured – it affects the whole club.
“We share the pain for Daniel and for the club and are of course upset by this situation too, but this was an unfortunate accident involving an interaction between the foot and a piece of equipment, not the result of unsafe, inappropriate or poorly-prescribed training.
“At KPI, athlete safety is our top priority. We only work with full club consent, in open communication with staff, and every session is designed to complement and never compromise their training and match schedule.
“This is no different for Preston, with close communication on a weekly basis with the sport science and medical department but injuries during training are unpreventable and this one in particular was close to impossible to avoid.
“This is the first ever injury we’ve seen within these four walls at KPI and that’s a fact. We feel it’s important to set the record straight. We believe in collaboration and every club and athlete within our network believe we are doing our best for the athlete.”
Preston’s Paul Heckingbottom criticises personal trainer for injury sustained by Daniel Jebbison
Here’s how Twitter users reacted as private performance coach Tom King hits back at Paul Heckingbottom over the blame for injury to Daniel Jebbison…
@skybluesblog: Seems saner and more reasonable than the soap opera fans in the comments. Informed and clear. Fair play.
@AJPNEFC: Genuinely don’t understand why our fans are commenting giving this guy shit? With any physical training there’s risk of injury, you can’t moan and blame the performance coach when the club literally gave him permission knowing the risk of injury #pnefc
@Christerphurr: Don’t think they doubted they do a good job it’s more who takes responsibility if/when injuries occur, the video just served to big himself up more then anything.
@northendpod: Full club consent and open communication with staff at PNE. North End shouldn’t be calling them out in public if they agreed Jebbison could do the training with them.
@pne_ste: So you are insured and we will recoup lost wages? Because this rebuttal confirms it happened on your watch. Hecky didn’t say you purposely injured him just it happened on your watch and you’re not insured so this video doesn’t really address his point tbh
@LewisPa52080956: If he was injured in your GYM under your supervision it’s YOUR FAULT
@Martin_Ryan23: “We share the pain for Daniel and for the club and are of course upset by this situation too” Yeah of course he is. Upset that Jebbison won’t be paying him for a while…
@PatrickKil692: But he was injured at your place of work, and now out for a period of time. Is that not correct?
@RichPLambert: Have the smallest sympathy for the PT, but Hecky basically said no more until they cover wages and take responsibility… which they will NEVER do as they could not afford the insurance charges….why is that?, because they pro athletes, an asset to a club and being abscent costs
@louise_pne: So if you pay us his wages while he’s out, from your insurance then all is well 👍🏻
@BainoPeter: “…an unfortunate accident involving an interaction between the foot and a piece of equipment…” Did he drop a dumbbell on it?
@j_sumner25: He shares the pain… just not the financial burden and the squad depth
@PrincepsPacis7: YOUR gym, YOUR equipment, YOUR FAULT. End of.
@samjamespne: Nobody blamed him for purposely injuring him, purely the fact it was on his watch – and a similar situation to one from last season (with a different trainer I imagine) and that’s why Preston players will stop working with them. Get Jebbo’s wages on his insurance 👏🏼 #pnefc
@bullnorton: This video should be renamed “ I’m covering my own arse” . Pay his wages for the month he’s out
@PNESale: Clearly not an injury incurred from poor coaching or unsafe practise but it didn’t happen at PNE – there is clearly a grey area that this episode has highlighted. Hecky was likely frustrated when he made his comments but consequently a question needs answering.
@idpbash: Glad you didn’t sit on it for too long, you might’ve done yourself a mischief. Ultimately you do it for profit, everything else is fluff. So, recompense PNE. 👍🏻
@jimshuttle: “Yes, Jebbison did get injured on our watch”
@nm86796730: The stakes are high with pro footballers. Clubs should insist on insurance to cover injuries. I think some good can come of this if it leads to these PTs getting proper insurance but it will need to be for huge sums.
