Dominic William Thomas 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. 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 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 pushed into 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. 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. 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 this season, Thomas was part of the squad who successfully won the play off final at Wembley Stadium, promoting Rovers back into the Football League 2. In August 2015, Thomas joined Paulton Roverson loan. On 26 September 2015, Thomas suffered a serious knee injury which ruled him out for the rest of the campaign. He then spent the full 2016/17 season on the sidelines while recovering from the injury. The Rovers squad then went on to gain promotion to the Football League 1 in back to back promotions. 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.
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.
