Footballer Jonathan Gjoshe recalls being stabbed seven times in a mass train attack, and feeling disappointed at being released by Scunthorpe.
The 23 year old was on a London-bound train in Huntingdon where he sustained a non-life-threatening slash to the bicep, required surgery.
A GoFundMe page, set up by the Iron Bru podcast, raised over £4,500 to help cover his care, transport, and lost earnings during recovery.
Scunthorpe United issued a statement wishing Gjoshe and all 11 victims in the train attack a full recovery, with manager Andy Butler called it “an awful thing” and pledged full support from the club.
A few days before his interview with Dan Roan for BBC Sport, Gjoshe found out his was released by Scunthorpe, but to his disappointment having missed half of the 2025/26 season and wanted another to prove himself having initially impressed.
Exclusive: footballer Jonathan Gjoshe – who was seriously injured in the Huntingdon train knife attack in November – tells me about his ordeal & recovery in 1st interview since the incident. pic.twitter.com/zbKlKRaCU0
— Dan Roan (@danroan) May 18, 2026
Jonathan Gjoshe said: “Someone just come over my right shoulder and just stabbed me. I got stabbed on the shoulder first. It was the first stab.
“And I remember jumping over the table, jumping on the chairs. I was just running down the corridor and just telling people, there’s a guy with a knife, run, I’ve been stabbed, run, run, run, run. I think I was the first person that got stabbed.
“So as I got down the first carriage or the second carriage, I pulled the alarm and I was just drenched with blood.”
Dan Roan: “How many blows did you sustain?”
Jonathan: “Seven. I got stabbed seven times, yeah.”
Dan: “Were you able to sort of take stock of the knife being used and can you describe it?”
Jonathan: “Kitchen knife. Quite big, yeah, it was quite big. It wasn’t a small knife, it was massive.”
Dan: “Do you think if you hadn’t jumped across the table in that moment you would have been killed potentially or certainly?”
Jonathan: “Yeah, yeah, would have, yeah. Me jumping over that table, that split second of me looking over my shoulder and getting over that table quick, yeah. 100%.”
Dan: “What could you hear in this time? Did you hear screaming or was it quite quiet? What was the atmosphere on the train during these seconds when you were trying to get away?”
Jonathan: “There was a few people shouting obviously. They were scared for their lives. But I just thought about getting calm and getting off that train as quick as possible.
“Eventually the train stopped and there was lots of people running. I just ran to the car park. Then eventually one of the ambulance people grabbed me behind, laid me on the floor and, yeah, got me in an ambulance quick to get me to the hospital.”
Dan: “And how severe were these wounds?”
Jonathan: “They’d gone through my muscle, so… You know, it was that much from the nerve. So, not that much, so…”
Dan: “What would that have meant, had it gone further?”
Jonathan: “Yeah, I wouldn’t have been able to use my arm.”
Dan: “Ever? That would have it?”
Jonathan: “Yeah. I was that lucky.”
Dan: “Did you, at that point, fear your football career could be in jeopardy?”
Jonathan: “I was worried. I was very worried. Just thinking, what are the damages that’s happened to me. I didn’t have a clue at the moment of time until I had the surgery after this incident, this is the recovery, this was happened to you, it’s just muscle. It was that much from the nerve. You’re very lucky, man.”
Dan: “And now you are fully back as it were. You could play a match with contact.”
Jonathan: “Yes. Fully healed and ready for whatever challenge comes through.”
Dan: “Will you be playing for Scunthorpe United next season?”
Jonathan: “No, won’t, unfortunately. It’s quite disappointing what’s happened. Everything I’ve been through, I missed quite half a season and I didn’t get the chance that I think I wanted. I was hoping they would give me another year to prove that. Unfortunately I didn’t get that and it’s quite disappointing.”
Thank you to everyone at @SUFCOfficial and especially the fans for the support and love you’ve shown me throughout my time here. I’ve enjoyed every moment representing this club and I’m grateful for the memories made along the way. Wishing you all the best for the future💜💙 pic.twitter.com/4pHL0fpLzl
— Jonathan Gjoshe/ (@EdenGjoshe) May 12, 2026
Dan: “What are your hopes now then? You’re looking for new club I guess?”
Jonathan: “Yeah. So yeah, just hoping who will give me that chance.”
Dan: “So I guess you must feel like you’ve lost out on the opportunity to prove yourself.”
Jonathan: “Yeah, of course. I’ve lost the opportunity. Obviously this happened. I missed quite a lot. I missed about half the season. So didn’t get the chance to prove it and just now hoping who’s going to give me that chance now.”
Dan: “And terms of Scunthorpe, you leave the club having made friends there?”
Jonathan: “Yes.”
Dan: “You close to people at the club? Who will you miss? Who do you want to say thanks to for their support?”
Jonathan: “The fans, my players that I played with. Massive support. was honestly big love. It meant a lot. There was a lot of response. Obviously the fans from Scunthorpe United started a GoFundMe for me, which meant a lot to me. Honestly, it helped me a lot. And you know, for them, the support they showed for me, the club as well. It meant a lot for me.”
Dan: “When you’re on your own thinking about it, reflecting on it, do you think how lucky you are that you weren’t more seriously injured, the fact that you survived it? Or is it easy to sometimes think how unfortunate you are that it happened to you at all?”
Jonathan: “A bit of both, 100%. Because that was the first time I got on a train, to go back to London. So what’s chances of that happening?”
Dan: “Have you been on train since?”
Jonathan: “Nah.”
Dan: “Would you go on one now?”
Jonathan: “Nah, I wouldn’t want to, nah. You just never know now. You know, better being safe, so. Just can’t trust anything.”
Dan: “These things, I’m sure, can take a lot of time to get over because it’s a traumatic experience, clearly. Do you have flashbacks about it?”
Jonathan: “Listen, it’s happened, yeah. It’s life. Thank God I’m alive, you know. That’s the main thing, you know. Can’t look back at it. Just got to move on. And the main thing was my worries about my football career.
“That’s why it took me a while to get out here to talk to you because my main thing was getting back to football. That was the only thing on my mind, was getting back to football playing and hoping I was going to get that chance.”
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