Celtic's Christopher Jullien admits his career could have been over before it started after crashing his car while falling asleep at the wheel as a teenager.
The £7million summer signing from Toulouse, who has made 15 appearances so far for Celtic this season, has enjoyed a successful career with previous spells at Freiburg and Dijon.
But it was at Auxerre where the former France youth international learned a harsh lesson.
The centre-back recalls the incident which happened when he was 17 or 18, saying he was informed one day by one of his coaches at Auxerre he would be training with the reserves the next day.
But Jullien, originally from Paris, opted to stay in the French capital that night and drive back to training the next day.
The towering stopper admits the costly error almost cost him everything.
He told RMC : “I fell asleep at the wheel and we had an accident. It was shocking when I woke up, the car is smashed and destroyed. Five minutes later, the reserve coach calls me.”
It was then Premiership defender had a choice to make, and he opted to tell the coach he was fine.
While he was not seriously injured, he quickly realised his major mistake.
He added: "I was crying beside my car, I call the coach back and I tell him a little lie, that I was sick. I did not tell them the truth.
"His tone of voice changed quickly: ‘Ok, you’ll train with the 17 year olds this afternoon."
When he did eventually get to training, the defender was warned he risked ruining his professional football career before it had even started, and he admits the incident was more than enough to spark a change in his lifestyle.
He said: "During the next three months, I arrived an hour early every morning!"
