“I took all that information on board and I was absolutely exhausted by it. I went home and cried all night."
At just 19, Chris Davies was forced to come to terms with the anguish of seeing his footballing dream come crashing down.
Having come through the ranks as a promising youngster at Reading, an arthritic condition in his foot brought his progress to an abrupt end.
Despite his clear devastation, he was encouraged to stay in the game and, after spending a short time in non-league with Farnborough, decided to call upon the advice of his former academy boss.
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After seeing his own playing career cut short by injury at a similar age, Brendan Rodgers clearly felt the youngster had something about him, and encouraged Davies to explore a journey in coaching.
Davies attended Loughborough University, picking up a first class degree in sports science, while also studying for his UEFA coaching qualifications. He'd then travel to New Zealand, working with former Wales boss Bobby Gould at Hawke's Bay United.
Finally, in 2010, he came back to the UK to reunite with his mentor Rodgers, who had since taken up the manager's job at Swansea City.
Aged just 25, he served as Rodgers' head of performance analysis as the Swans marched their way to the Premier League, although Davies himself went about his business reasonably quietly, as SA1 hero Darren Pratley recalls.
“I remember seeing him around the place a few times thinking, like most people, ‘Who is this young lad who is around with Brendan?’” he told The Athletic.
“Brendan has just been training him up to get that role at Leicester but we didn’t see too much of him at Swansea. He wasn’t on the training pitch with us. He didn’t come into the dressing room, but we would see him around and he was obviously learning from Brendan.
“I guess he was a man of mystery,” Pratley added. “He went about his work quietly. He was very much in the background but he is stepping up now in the Premier League and he has learned from one of the best coaches in the game.”
Davies would follow Rodgers to Liverpool, where they'd come to within a Steve Gerrard slip of winning the Premier League. At the age of 30, he'd spend six months at Reading as the club's youngest ever first-team coach, before linking up with Rodgers again to join Scottish giants Celtic in 2015.
At Celtic Park, he made the step up from his analyst role to become Rodgers' number two, and even took on occasional media duties.
That willingness to dip his toe into the spotlight continued to grow at Leicester City, offering onlookers a greater insight into what makes him tick as a coach.
Jordan Blackwell, who covers the Foxes for the LeicesterLive says: "If they ever played a lower league team in the cup and won, then Chris would do the post-match press conferences.
"He was quite reserved when we spoke to him. Sometimes you'd ask Rodgers a question and he'd give you quite a detailed answer and Chris didn't always go into that level of depth, but that might well be just because he was an assistant and probably slightly aware of what not to say and not wanting to give away too much.
"It always felt like he was very much in the same mould as Brendan.
"They were very similar in terms of personality. I don't think they would have worked together for as long as they did if they were contrasting personalities.
"They had very similar opinions on things and I think probably very similar styles of play and how football should be played.
"I think Rodgers also probably likes people he sees a bit of himself in, and the fact they've had similar career trajectories in terms of having to retire from playing very early, has probably helped the relationship."
But despite the strength of their bond, Davies has previously been vocal about his ambitions to be a manager in his own right. "I’ve always been open about my desire to be a manager," he recently told Coaches' Voice. "The next step will naturally be into a role as a head coach or manager, but of course it has to be the right fit for me."
Indeed, Blackwell believes the willingness to thrust Davies into the media glare might well have been a deliberate move to prepare the 38-year-old for taking a manager's job somewhere.
"I think Rodgers put Davies up because he was probably aware of those ambitions he had to be a manager at some point, and was perhaps giving him an opportunity to do that sort of thing. Dealing with the media is a big part of the job," he added.
Could Swansea be the ones to deliver the platform for him to start this new chapter? In terms of philosophy, it appears a good fit.
At the time of writing, it's understood the Swans board are keen on appointing a manager capable of implementing a similar possession-heavy style to that favoured by the outgoing Russell Martin.
Whether Davies sees the Swans as a good fit to start his journey, is another question. Indeed, he has already laid out what he might be looking for in terms of his first job.
"I want an organised club that can be aligned with my vision," he added. "I feel I’ve proven myself as an assistant at the top level, and now I’m ready to make that next step into an exciting future. Alternatively, I may continue as an assistant for a while longer, depending on what opportunities arise.
"I want to create an environment at a club where there is ambition to improve and to be successful, and enjoy what we’re doing while we do it. I’ve got a burning desire to win, and to do so at the top level.
"I put a lot of detail into my work, but I also want my players to have the creative freedom to express themselves. I want a structure, on and off the pitch, that gives players the tools and space to flourish."
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