Gary Caldwell has been forced to call time on his remarkable career.
His troublesome hip meant it was too painful to train, never mind play for struggling Wigan Athletic, so he has decided to hang up his boots, aged just 32.
The former Celtic and Scotland captain is now hoping to build a new career in coaching while doing anything he can to prevent the Latics dropping out of the Championship.
Caldwell, who won two titles, the Scottish Cup and the League Cup with the Hoops, has been given a role at Wigan’s academy, but he is unsure what will happen at the end of the season.
Ironically, his last match for Wigan was against QPR in the Premiership Play-Off semi-finals last season, which shows just how far the Lancashire club have fallen.
He won 55 caps for Scotland and, of course, famously scored the winner against France in a European Championship qualifier at Hampden on October 11, 2006.
Caldwell said: “That’s the end for me. I’ve been struggling for years, to be perfectly honest, and even training was becoming really painful.
“I had the second operation on my left hip just under two years ago, and while it helped a little bit, I was never the same again. I played four games and that was it.
“The first time I got the operation, it was a success and it had a good effect.
“But the surgeon was honest with me when I went in the second time in the summer of 2013. He admitted he wasn’t sure if it was going to help me.
“So it’s something I knew was coming.
“Of course you want to play, but I also wanted to get into coaching and I have the chance now rather than wondering: ‘What am I going to do?’
“In the summer, I tried to keep playing, but Uwe Rosler also wanted me to get involved in the academy side of the club.
“I tried to play as much as possible in pre-season, but I was really struggling and in pain every day at training.
“When Malky Mackay came in, he asked how I was and I admitted I was struggling. So he suggested cutting everything right back and focusing on the academy, as well as watching him work with the first team.
“So I have been really thankful that I have been given the opportunity to do that while I can.
“I’m not sure what will happen at the end of the season. Malky has said he hopes to keep me at the club, but he’s not sure in what role yet.
“There are a lot more pressing matters on our minds at the moment, so I’m just helping as much as I can.”
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