(Photo: Action Images via Reuters)
By Alex Beard
Former Republic of Ireland international Kevin Doyle has announced his retirement from football on medical advice, citing concussion fears.
The 34-year-old has most recently been plying his trade in the MLS with the Colorado Rapids, but had previously enjoyed fruitful stints in England with Reading and Wolves.
In a statement posted on his Twitter, Doyle said: “Today I'm said to announce that after listening to medical advice I will play no further part this season and will be retiring.
“This year it has been clear to me that heading the ball was becoming problematic and causing me to have repeated headaches.
“Two concussions this season and numerous others over the years have made this more concerning. After consulting the experts in this field, it has been decided that to avoid the possibility of these symptoms becoming more serious and permanent, I will be hanging my boots up for good.”
Concussion fears are much more prevalent in sports like American Football and Boxing, so to see Doyle explain that head injuries were the reason for his retirement is surprising.
However, the Irishman has enjoyed a 15 year career spanning Ireland, England and the United States – while representing seven different teams.
He began his playing career with St Patrick's Athletic in 2002 before joining Cork City a year later. 25 goals in 76 leagues games earned him a move to Reading and his career subsequently took off with the Royals.
Fifty-six goals in 163 appearances followed, and Doyle then moved on to Wolves. His time there was less prolific and he had loan spells with QPR and Crystal Palace, before joining Colorado in 2015.
The striker is also a 62-cap Ireland international, scoring 14 goals for his country in an 11 year span.
