WERE you in town the night a Champions League winner and England football legend descended upon Swindon’s bars and nightclubs with his Chelsea teammates?

Shortly after joining Chelsea in an £11m transfer, Frank Lampard was brought to the town by Swindon masseur Billy McCulloch, who had joined the Premier League giants at the same time.

That was in 2001, but yesterday, a 36-year-old Lampard returned to the town in a rather different capacity – to cut the ribbon at the new clinic of close friend and osteopath, Carl Todd.

“I have played at the County Ground, though I can’t remember when – I’ve been playing a long time,” said Chelsea’s all-time top goalscorer.

“I do have a connection to Swindon actually, through Billy McCulloch, who is the Chelsea masseur. He’s very well-known.

“We actually joined Chelsea at the same time, so we had a night out in Swindon a long time ago.

“We all drove down. Carl, Billy and myself were all very close. We worked together a lot.

“They’re very open to new ideas. I’ve found in my time in football, with medicine, doctors and physios, some of them think they know it all, but those two were never like that.”

Carl, who began working with Frank through Chelsea and England 10 years ago, opened up his third healthcare centre yesterday in Lancaster Place, South Marston Park.

And Frank, a three-time Premier League winner, was confirmed for the ribbon cutting at 6pm on Sunday evening, after Manchester City’s shock defeat to Middlesbrough in the FA Cup on Saturday.

Frank added: “I became friendly with him first and foremost off the pitch, because he’s such a good bloke. He was very amiable and all the players were very friendly with him.

“Carl then started to work with Chelsea a few years after that so I’ve had a lot to do with him. He’s been getting the best out of me and helping me get through games when I was too stiff.”

Carl has assorted memorabilia and photographs on the walls of all the professional footballers he has worked with at his new clinic .

He continues to work with Chelsea, despite Lampard’s departure last summer. In the 10 years he has worked there alongside his own business, he has become more accustomed to treating superstars.

“The night before I first went to the team hotel I probably didn’t sleep,” he said.

“It was a great set-up. The medical team there, the players, they made you feel comfortable, they made you feel welcome.

“After a while, when you get used to it, it becomes a job, until you walk out into a stadium of 50, 60, 70,000 people screaming. Then it brings you back down to earth and makes you realise what it’s all about.”

Despite City having its own medical team in Manchester, such is Frank’s closeness with his friend he continues to seek his advice on any niggles he might struggle with on the pitch.

“Carl’s very busy with all these things. I am pretty much on the other side of the country most of the time,” he said.

“We have spent a lot of time together over the years and, as happens in life, professionally you move on a bit, but we’re always in contact.

“If I ever have a really big issue, Carl will be the first man I ring up to try and sort it out.”

For more information about the osteopathy business, visit: www.thecarltoddclinic.com