He felt delighted when he broke his ankle, as he didn't have to go back

Darren O’Dea can’t put his finger on the day he knew he had to get of Ukraine. There were so many.

It could have been the January morning when he peered out of the hotel room which had become a prison, his only contact with his wife and daughter through his laptop.

They were in Glasgow. O’Dea was playing for Metalurh Donetsk in a war zone and the Russian flag he saw flying over government buildings proved it.

Darren O'Dea (left) in action for the Republic of Ireland against Spain and David Villa (right) in 2013

As the fighting intensified, the flag changing almost daily, Metalurh players moved to the training ground an hour away.

It could have been a month later when Metalurh made the 10 hour journey to Crimea, just weeks after it had been annexed.

Pro-Russian troops were waiting at a makeshift checkpoint and as Metalurh were entering Russian territory, foreign players – among them O’Dea and five Brazilians – were denied entry because they didn’t have visas.

Halfway through a five-hour stand-off, O’Dea led a small party to a toilet across the road. They were immediately surrounded by armed soldiers in balaclavas.

O’Dea said: ‘There was shouting and screaming and I turned round see guns pointing at us. The soldiers were going absolutely berserk.

‘The Ukrainian lads understood what was being said, so they scarpered back to the bus.

Defender O'Dea (left) has also played in Canada with Toronto Rangers

‘I wasn’t scared. I was just angry because I needed the toilet and the translator was going crazy, telling me to get back.

‘I don’t know if they thought we were going to make a run for it, there was no way to go. At that stage I just wanted to go home.’

Metalurh’s players are definitely safer now. With Donetsk a derelict ghost town, under Russian control, they are now four hours up country.

The brochures claim it’s a holiday resort. ‘Far from it,’ said O’Dea, who went there to terminate his lucrative two-year contract.

The real breaking point was a literal one. He snapped his ankle on a run, the day before his best friend’s wedding in Cyprus.

His immediate reaction when he discovered the extent said it all.

O’Dea said: ‘The airspace over Donetsk was closed so we had an extra week off but they had arranged a friendly in Austria so I was out running to get fit for that.

‘It was a lovely run, cyclists and walkers around, headphones in. I turned round to make sure there was no bike coming, misjudged a hole, went down and collapsed when I tried to get up.

O'Dea celebrates winning the Co-operative Insurance Cup Final at Hampden Park with Celtic in 2009

‘I’m not the softest lad in the world but it was agony. We put ice on it overnight and it ballooned.

‘This sounds terrible, but when I found out it was broken the first thing that went into my head was, at least I don’t have to go back to Ukraine.

‘I did feel guilty. You are blessed to be a footballer and I know I was being paid a lot of money but I wanted out.’

O’Dea makes no secret of the financial rewards – treble offers he had from English clubs - but Donetsk was not a happy experience even before the Russian invasion.

He only flew back after the winter break at Christmas at the last hour, defying a family who had begged him to stay.

Every day was a personal battle, whether conflicting with the club’s strict regimental coaching, or coping with routine tasks.

‘If I am being honest there was only one day of every month I enjoyed,’ he admits. ‘And that was pay day.

‘There are those who just play for money. I found out I wasn’t one of them. It gave me no satisfaction whatsoever.

‘The football is fantastic but there are no crowds. I grew up at Celtic where you never get away from football. You walk in the street and people want you to sign stuff or shout abuse after a bad game. It can become draining but they were the things I missed.

O'Dea has played 20 times for the Republic of Ireland and wants to add to that total

‘If I had a bad game in Ukraine no one knew. I scored my first goal and normally I’d receive loads of texts. Nothing. I could have scored four own goals. I missed that intensity and hunger.’

Ireland team-mate Aiden McGeady had warned there would be difficulties, and he was based in Moscow. The pair can laugh about their experiences now.

O’Dea said: ‘Aiden said brace yourself for the training camps. They love their training camps. The key word is camp.

‘You eat, sleep, drink, football. Regimented is the only word. Even a day off starts with a 40-minute jog.

‘I know this sounds stupid but I dreaded putting my training kit on. I was sick of it. Physically it was one of the easiest pre-seasons; mentally I couldn’t handle it.

‘No one complains. The coach says jump, players say ‘how high?’ You know when you drive for ten minutes and your mind switches off and you can’t remember doing it? That was training every day.

‘I did my fill of moaning. I do like a good moan, most players I know do. It’s part of the daily banter but this was joyless. I spent my whole time complaining.

‘I wasn’t taken seriously because they couldn’t understand a word. The angrier I got, the faster I talked. They would just hear ‘blah, blah, blah, F-this, F-that’.

‘I was always told never to curse in an interview but eventually I was banned from saying the F-word. I was told I’d get a bonus if I could avoid swearing. I lasted four minutes.

O'Dea (left) battles with Albert Gilardino of AC Milan in the Champions League

‘I love talking about the experience now and I can laugh about it but at the time I was genuinely down and angry.’

Those close to him might have feared for his sanity, particularly after he cut his own hair with a razor.

‘I hated days off,’ he said. ‘I would stay up as late as possible so I could stay in bed, I have watched every episode of every box set of every series under the sun.

‘Without Skype I could go the whole day without interacting with a human being. I was bored and I hated it. I lost every reason I grew up to play football.

‘The smallest thing became an issue. I didn’t know how to get a haircut so I shaved it off myself.

‘You can’t get studs over there so I had to wear mouldies I’d brought from Toronto and there were downpours before the first three games so I was slipping all over the place.’

The contrast between Ukraine and the life O’Dea left behind in Toronto is mind-boggling. No wonder he struggled.

O'Dea (left) in FA Cup action for Leeds against France striker Thierry Henry of Arsenal

After his release from Celtic in 2012, he was offered the chance to join the MLS revolution.

At 25, it was an early call to the States but he was immediately hooked.

He said: ‘There’s a big perception that it’s a retirement league or you go when you’re 30 so I wasn’t sure.

‘We went over for three days and I have never been treated like it in my life.

‘Four players and the manager took us out for a meal and a few beers, taking it in turns to persuade me to sign.

‘We stayed in an amazing hotel, met the franchise owner at the training ground and went to watch a game. I remember turning to my wife then and saying ‘I think I fancy this’.

‘It was the best decision I ever made. I loved every minute of it.’

O'Dea (right) celebrates scoring for Celtic with team-mate Derek Riordan against Kilmarnock

He became captain, maintaining his Ireland place. O’Dea had his moanie moments in Canada too, pointing out improvements he would make before former Blackburn defender Ryan Nelson took over.

‘The facilities are incredible, the best I have been in but the younger players took it for granted and they were not learning properly. They hadn’t earned the right to use those facilities.

‘There was great support for the team in the city, a big build-up to every game as only the Americans and Canadians can do it and I loved that intensity.’

Once a States-sceptic, he quickly embraced the MLS and its increasing popularity in a sports-mad country.

O’Dea said: ‘Portland was the best. They get a giant chainsaw out and chop a tree trunk if they score. If you buy into it, it’s brilliant.

‘The media come into the dressing room after a game and you could have had three cameras in your face while you’re getting changed. I was in their place and played by their rules. I was constantly asked to do things, especially as captain but I actually enjoyed it.

O'Dea (right) challenges Russia striker Aleksandr Kerzhakov for the ball in a Euro 2012 qualifier

‘There’s a great one on Youtube. We’d conceded a late goal and I can see in my face I was still raging. I’m playing with my belt, refusing to look at the camera, just ranting away.’

But under MLS wage rules, O’Dea was effectively Toronto’s marquee signing. Unusual for a centre-back. He knew what was coming.

He said: ‘My contract was done in haste. I was taking a bigger hit on the team’s wage cap than Robbie Keane and Thierry Henry.

‘I wanted the best for the team so I wanted to say ‘my contract’s a joke - you need to sort it’.

‘I was performing well and captain and they offered me a longer deal with half the wages. Every part of me wanted to sign but we really couldn’t have lived on it.’

He chose Ukraine next…

We’re in a hotel opposite Blackpool’s Bloomfield Road. More like Bleakpool. Smiles are rare but one man matches the beaming bronze statue of Jimmy Armfield.

His family are waiting for him. Melissa is with her parents and a remarkably patient Lucia, four next month, jumps into his arms.