Myrhe was playing for Sunderland and Peter Reid had just been sacked as their manager, as he was heading off on international duty with Norway.
In the game against Romania, Myrhe suffered a thigh strain and immediately afterwards he received a telephone call from Sunderland’s caretaker manager Howard Wilkinson who told Myrhe to return to Sunderland right away.
Norway had another international scheduled and Myrhe who had never spoken to Wilkinson up to this point told his new boss that Norway wanted him to take a fitness test. He took the test, failed it and then flew back to Sunderland.
However, when he returned Sunderland’s medical staff said the injury wasn’t a problem, and Wilkinson and Steve Cotterill who were temporarily both in charge told the keeper he had to play in Sunderland’s next game at Bolton.
Myrhe said: "I desperately wanted to play but my thigh was still sore. Anyway after the game, with me unable to stand, the assistant manager (Cotterill) still said I wasn’t injured."
"They said it was in my head. I was told I would never put my feet on the pitch for Sunderland again - it was the most ridiculous experience of my career. You can see from my medical files whether it was in my head or not."
"I’d ruptured my thigh and needed to have a massive operation which kept me out the game for a year. After they investigated it properly it was a case of ‘Oh, he is injured after all’. I should have stood up and said I couldn’t play but there had been so much pressure."
Source: The Sunday Times