Dominic Thomas

For the UCLA professor, see Dominic Thomas (academic).

Not to be confused with Dom Thomas.

Dominic Thomas

Personal information
Full name	Dominic William Thomas [1]
Date of birth	(1995-11-23) 23 November 1995 (age 28)
Place of birth	London, England
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
2002–2012	Charlton Athletic
2012–2014	Bristol Rovers
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2017	Bristol Rovers	0	(0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 28 July 2017

Dominic William Thomas (born 23 November 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. He was forced to retire from professional football due to injury after spending 5 years at League One side Bristol Rovers. ^[2] Born in London, Thomas started his career at Charlton Athletic before signing a scholarship at Bristol Rovers. Thomas won the league and cup double for the Under-18s during the 2012-13 campaign. He then went on to sign his first professional contract in 2014 with Bristol Rovers at the age of 18.

Career

Charlton Athletic

Thomas joined Charlton Athletic at 7 years old, where he then signed for their academy at the age of 9. He played there for 7 years until he was released at the age of 16 years. He then signed for Bristol Rovers.

Bristol Rovers

Thomas signed a scholarship at Bristol Rovers at the age of 16. In his first year as a scholar, he won the league and cup double for the Under-18s during the 2012-13 campaign. During this campaign, there was speculation that Thomas could be on his way to Liverpool Football Club. He captained the U-18s in his second year scholar & after a strong campaign was promoted to the Bristol Rovers first team before the end of the season.

On 21 April, Darrell Clarke named Thomas on the bench for the first team against Rochdale but was an unused substitute. ^[3] Rovers lost the game 2–1, which contributed towards their eventual relegation from the Football League - the first time since their acceptance in 1920. On 3 May, Thomas was again named on the bench for the first team for the ultimate game of the season at home to Mansfield Town, where he was an unused substitute. Rovers lost 0-1 confirming their relegation from the Football League. ^[4]

In July 2014, Thomas signed his first professional contract with Bristol Rovers.

In October 2014, Thomas made his professional debut in the FA Cup against Dorchester Town where he replaced Lee Mansell in the 84th minute. Bristol Rovers won the game 7–1. Later that season, Thomas was part of the squad who were successful in the play off final at Wembley Stadium, promoting Rovers back into the Football League 2 at the first time of asking.

In August 2015, Thomas joined Paulton Rovers on loan. ^[5] Just a month later, on 26 September 2015, Thomas suffered a serious knee injury which ruled him out for the rest of the campaign. ^[6] He then spent the full 2016/17 season on the sidelines while recovering from the injury. ^[7] In the 2015/16 season, Bristol Rovers would finish third in League Two, earning them back-to-back promotions and a place in League One

On 26 July 2017, Thomas returned to the Bristol Rovers first team squad for the first time in 22 months in a pre-season friendly against Bath City after suffering a career threatening injury. ^[8]

Retirement

Thomas announced his retirement from professional football on 1 October 2017 via his Twitter account due to not being able to overcome his knee/leg injury sustained in September 2015. He thanked his club doctor Tim Jenkins and surgeon Jonathan Webb for helping him throughout the injury. ^[9]

Personal life

He is the brother of Yeovil Town player Jordan Thomas.

Career statistics

As of 1 October 2014 ^[10]

Club	Season	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Other [lower-alpha 1]		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Bristol Rovers	2013–14	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2014–15	0	0	1	0	-	-	0	0	1	0
	2015–16	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2016–17	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Career total		0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0

1. Includes appearances in the FA Trophy.

References

1. "Retained List 2015-16" (PDF). English Football League. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
2. "Bristol Rovers F.C. Player Profiles: Dominic Thomas". Bristol Rovers F.C. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
3. "Bristol Rovers 1-2 Rochdale". BBC Sport. 21 April 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
4. Caroline Chapman (3 May 2014). "Bristol Rovers 1-2 Mansfield". BBC Sport. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
5. "DOMINIC THOMAS JOINS PAULTON ON LOAN - News - Bristol Rovers".
6. "Rovers knocked out of FA Cup as injury woes continue – PAULTON ROVERS 0 CHESHAM UNITED 2 | The Midsomer Norton & Radstock Journal".
7. "Keith Brookman on Twitter: "@perrygasss @Official_BRFC @dominicwthomas he's just coming back after a long spell on the sidelines through an injury sustained at Paulton" / Twitter".
8. "Rovers Defeated at Twerton Park".
9. "Twitter".
10. "Dominic Thomas". Soccer Base. Retrieved 1 July 2014.