The Socceroo defender has helped club and country get out of jail on more than one occasion and now he’s helping build links between football and English prisons.

Emerton and Wigan goalkeeper Chris Kirkland joined Bolton striker Kevin Davies at Hindley young offenders prison for a Prince’s Trust event.

Bolton have been piloting the programme, which aims to lower the rate of reoffending among young convicts, and thanks to new funding from the Premier League, Football Foundation and the PFA, it has now been rolled out nationwide.

Davies said: “Around two thirds of first-time offenders reoffend within two years of their release, and that’s something we need to get rid of.

“I jumped at the chance to help out when the club was approached by the Prince’s Trust - people from all walks of life deserve a second chance, and why shouldn’t football part in that process?”

Davies helped his relegation-haunted team to a vital win over Lucas Neill’s West Ham last week but is now sidelined with a hand/wrist injury.

He said: “X-rays confirmed I had broken the bone between my wrist and the knuckle, and the smaller one on my wedding ring finger had basically snapped in half.

“I had an operation to stabilise the fractures with a couple of pins and metal plates, and it's still pretty sore. It's frustrating, especially when we've just given ourselves a chink of light, and if my 100th goal was a long time coming, at least it was decisive.

“We have closed the gap between ourselves and the teams directly above us, the pressure is back on them now, and pressure can do strange things when you are looking over your shoulder.”