SPANISH LEFT-BACK JOSE Enrique has announced his retirement from football.
The former Liverpool and Newcastle United defender has been forced to bring his career to a premature conclusion after being unable to shake off a long-term knee injury.
“I couldn’t play without medication. I did not even train. It was hard, desperate. Sometimes I got dizzy in training on so much medication,” he told Spanish publication Marca.
“After every game my knee swelled like a ball and I was barely able to walk for three days. Something that was supposed to be for three months ended up turning into two years.
“I saw five doctors in England but they did not get the problem. It hurts me, but so many times they told me that it was a psychological problem that I came to believe it.”
Enrique joined Newcastle from Villarreal in 2007. After four years at St James’ Park, he signed for Liverpool and made 99 appearances, winning a League Cup in 2012, before departing for Real Zaragoza in 2016.
Despite undergoing further surgery on the injury, the problem persisted and Enrique has now brought the curtain down on his career after just one season back in Spain.
“I want to be an older man who can walk, not an invalid,” he added.
