PAUL CORRY HAS announced his decision to retire from professional football due to his struggles with persistent knee injuries.
The 26-year-old, who joined Shamrock Rovers ahead of the 2017 season, has been unable to overcome the problems which began during his time at Northampton Town in 2015.
Despite making several attempts to get the better of the injuries, Corry has opted to end his career instead of risking long-term damage after being advised to do so by a specialist.
The Dubliner, who represented Ireland at underage level and featured in the U21 squad for the 2013 European Championship qualifiers, revealed his decision on the latest episode of the LOI Weekly podcast.
“I was told if I pushed it for a year or two I could be looking at a knee replacement in five years and I could be walking with a limp in 10 years,” Corry said.
“I’m not prepared to take that massive risk. I already have early-stage arthritis in parts of my knee. Last Wednesday night I was up at 5am for 45 minutes in complete agony.”
Corry made his name in the League of Ireland, playing for UCD while studying for a degree in Commerce. At 21, he earned a move to Sheffield Wednesday in 2012 and was named man of the match in his league debut for the Owls — a 1-1 draw at home to Leeds United in the Championship, in which he started in midfield alongside Ross Barkley.
He went on to have loan spells with Tranmere Rovers and Carlisle United, before spending a season at Northampton. As he continued his battle to conquer his injury problems, Corry returned home and signed for Shamrock Rovers for the current season but the Castleknock native has been unable to play a game for the Hoops since May.
This morning on Twitter, Corry thanked the players, management and coaching staff at Shamrock Rovers and explained: “Constant struggles with swelling, stiffness and pain in my knee have backed me into a corner where I have no other option but to make this decision.
“I have explored every avenue, tried a number of different procedures but nothing seems to have worked. It is a bitter pill to swallow and very difficult to come to terms with this decision at the age of 26, but now I need to look to the future in a positive mind-frame.”
