You don’t hear about career ending injuries so much anymore thanks to the medical advances that have been made over the years and the ready availability of horse placenta… Well perhaps not the horse placenta – or maybe there’s something I’m missing here? More about horse placenta another time.
West Ham and England striker Dean Ashton has recently announced his retirement from football at just 26 having failed to recover from a chronic ankle injury. Ashton originally broke his left ankle in 2006 during an England training session (following a heavy challenge from Shaun Wright-Phillips) and subsequently missed the entire 2006/7 season.
He returned to play 35 games in 2007/8 and made his England debut under Fabio Capello, however in training for the new season in September 2008 he sustained a further ankle injury that has led to his recent retirement. Ashton underwent 5 operations in a bid to prolong his career and is still unable to walk properly despite extensive rehabilitation and independent medical advice. We wish Ashton all the best for the future.
Rumors in the press over recent days have suggested that Ashton may be looking to take legal action against Wright-Phillips for ending his career. Unfortunately the precedent for legal action of this type is already there. Most recently it was seen in the case of the Manchester United player Ben Colett who was awarded £4.3 million following a career ending challenge from Middlesbrough's Gary Smith despite not being a first team player.
What I found unsettling about all this is that it has filtered down to the ambulance chasers (did someone say no win no fee?) who actively advertise on their sites about how dangerous sport is and how you can claim for an injury you have received. Not good.
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