Savage told the Lancashire Evening Telegraph: “Breaking my leg has probably been harder to deal with than the disappointment of getting released by Manchester United.
“When I first did it, I was so down it was unbelievable.
“I lost three quarters of a stone just through being depressed because I felt so low I didn’t want to eat.
“But then one day I went into the training ground and one of the secretaries was passing a card around and asked if I’d sign it.
“It was for a five-year-old boy, who had a problem with his leg, and when I asked what was wrong with him they said he was having it amputated.
“That suddenly put everything into perspective and I immediately stopped feeling sorry for myself because it made me realise there’s a Hell of a lot of people out there who are far worse off than me in life.
“Okay, so I’ve got a broken leg and I won’t play football again for a few months, but at least I’ll get better. This young lad has lost his leg.”
