Former West Ham and Welsh midfielder Jack Collison has retired from football at the age of 27 due to a horrendous run of injuries.
Collison played 121 times for the Hammers after making the breakthrough when he was just 19, going on to earn his first international caps in the same year.
However, a run of persistent knee injuries saw his promising development stagnate before being released by the London club in 2013.
In a classy and heartfelt statement, Collsion announced his retirement today;
"It’s hard knowing how to start this…
"But as of tomorrow when I wake up, I am no longer Jack Collison – the footballer, as of tomorrow I am officially retired.
"I suppose this day has been coming for a while, but the harsh reality of actually admitting it and saying it, is very different to just thinking about it. In all honesty it has been on the cards for a while, but I have never been one to give up without a fight, and this fight against injury has truly been a mammoth battle.
"I never in a million years dreamt at 27 years of age I would be having to announce my retirement, but then again I never thought I would have played in the premier league and for my country by the age of 19."
Follwing his release from West Ham, Collison had short stints with Bournemouth and Ipswich before signing a deal with Peterborough at the beginning of the season, managing 12 appearances in total, the last of which coming back in October before being struck down by injury once again.
He also earned 17 caps for Wales.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">I'm officially retired as of today... Here is a short statement...<a href="https://t.co/YlwPsOUxvp">https://t.co/YlwPsOUxvp</a> thanks for all the support 💙</p>— Jack collison (@Jcollison31) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jcollison31/status/698440597581991936">February 13, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">JC: Everyone at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WestHam?src=hash">#WestHam</a> would like to wish former Hammer <a href="https://twitter.com/Jcollison31">@Jcollison31</a> all the very best in his retirement 1/3 <a href="https://t.co/Cfdg8Ue2Kc">pic.twitter.com/Cfdg8Ue2Kc</a></p>— West Ham United FC (@whufc_official) <a href="https://twitter.com/whufc_official/status/698441555238133760">February 13, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Jack Collison has sadly retired from playing football at age 27. On behalf of all West Ham's fans, Jack we wish you the best of luck.dg</p>— David Gold (@davidgold) <a href="https://twitter.com/davidgold/status/698476695821615104">February 13, 2016</a></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Saddened to hear that <a href="https://twitter.com/Jcollison31">@Jcollison31</a> is retiring! A great player & servant to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WHUFC?src=hash">#WHUFC</a>! Scored the odd banger, too! âš½ï¸ðŸ˜±<a href="https://t.co/ctzeSro4Ep">https://t.co/ctzeSro4Ep</a></p>— Read West Ham (@ReadWestHam) <a href="https://twitter.com/ReadWestHam/status/698451354390495233">February 13, 2016</a></blockquote>
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You can read the full statement here.
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