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Injuries and health issues are a part of every footballer's life. Every season, there are players who suffer from blows, knocks and injuries that cut short their season by weeks or months or for the rest of the year.
Despite overcoming a particular injury, there are many times when a player is hit with the same medical issue which becomes a further cause of strain. It also prevents clubs from buying players who have a history of the problems recurring in their careers.
However, with the growth and importance that is given to sports science in modern football, sports scientists tend to further dictate a player's career. It has led to players being forced to end their career due to a failure of overcoming any constant setbacks and having to retire in their 20s.
We take a look at the players who were forced to retire before the age of 30:
#5 Julian Nagelsmann
In February 2016, Julian Nagelsmann took the reins of Hoffenheim at the age of just 28, becoming the youngest manager in Bundesliga history. He initially took charge until the end of the season with the club struggling in 17th place, battling relegation. However, under his management, Hoffenheim won 50% of their remaining games and avoided the drop.
When it comes to his playing career, it never kickstarted. He started his youth career with FC Augsburg and later move on to 1860 Munich. He stayed four years in Munich but failed to make an appearance.
Devastating knee injuries in his teenage years ended his career at the tender age of 20. After quitting football, Nagelsmann went to a university to study before switching over to coaching, working under Thomas Tuchel for FC Augsburg's reserve team.
Later, he went on to coach from the U16s to the U19 level. Nagelsmann's Hoffenheim side managed to make it to the Champions League qualifiers earlier this season after finishing the previous campaign in the top four.
#4 Sebastian Deisler
Sebastian Deisler was a very talented and special young German prospect. He was regarded as the future of German football and started off his professional career with Borussia Monchengladbach before making the switch to Hertha Berlin and then eventually to Bundesliga heavyweights Bayern Munich.
Deisler spent five years at Bayern, where he played on the right wing and at times an attacking midfielder. He was regarded as the rising star of the Bundesliga but his career turned out to be shortlived and not particularly glorious as a series of knee injuries and cruciate ligament ruptures put the brakes on his development.
Apart from the injuries he suffered, Deisler also had mental issues to deal with and plunged into depression. When he returned from a long layoff, the Bayern man stated that he felt exhausted. Owing to the lack of confidence and the recurring knee injuries, he announced his retirement in January 2007 aged just 27.
#3 Ruben de la Red
Ruben de la Red was an academy product of Real Madrid who broke into the first team in his teenage years and played in the central midfield role. He made only a few appearances in his debut season but was called up by Fabio Capello for the 2006-07 campaign.
The following season, he was transferred to another club based in Madrid, Getafe CF and then in the subsequent year, Real exercised their buy-back clause and brought him back to the Bernabeu. His impressive performances at Getafe led to a Spanish national team call-up for the 2008 European Championship.
Until then, de la Red hadn't suffered any major injury in his career. However, the first major blow for him was when he collapsed on the pitch in a Copa del Rey game and was immediately taken to the emergency room. He was ruled out for the rest of the season as a precaution advised by the medical experts.
It was evident that he had a heart condition. In 2009, further tests provided inconclusive results which meant that he would miss the entirety of the 2009-10 campaign. Later, tests resulted in Real Madrid attempting to declare de la Red's heart problem a common condition and that would fund a minor portion of his treatment.
In November 2010, however, de la Red announced his retirement from football aged just 25. His heart condition was a consequence of him never being able to return to the pitch. He decided to stay in the Spanish capital and pursue his career as a youth coach at Real Madrid.
#2 Fabrice Muamba
Fabrice Muamba was a youth product of Arsenal. He spent two years in the first team in English capital but failed to make a first-team appearance. He later went on to play for Birmingham City and his most successful spell was at Bolton where he spent four years.
However, it was in March 2012, in an FA Cup tie against Tottenham, that left the entire football universe in shock. Muamba suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed on the pitch. He received treatment on the pitch itself for a substantial period of time. Then, he was rushed to a specialist coronary care unit.
It was later revealed that the Bolton midfielder's heart had stopped running for a significant 78 minutes. His progress at the hospital was not very responsive and his condition was described as critical. But after a few days, there were signs of improvement and his overall progress also started to become better.
He was admitted to the hospital for nearly a month following his cardiac arrest. Later, he returned to his club's home game against Tottenham to thank the fans for their support and in return received a standing ovation.
In August 2012, Muamba announced his retirement from football at the age of just 24 based on the advice of his medical team.
#1 Ryan Mason
Ryan Mason started his youth career at Tottenham Hotspur and made his first-team debut in 2008. He had gone on several loan spells before the arrival of Mauricio Pochettino at Spurs and had become a regular first-team player in 2014.
Following a disappointing 2015-16 campaign, Tottenham decided to sell the Englishman to Hull City. He was having a good spell at his new club as he had become an integral part of the Hull squad.
However, it was in January 2017 when Mason suffered a life-threatening injury. It was a Premier League fixture against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. The Hull midfielder leapt high to win a header against Gary Cahill from a corner kick. It was at this very moment when he clashed heads with Cahill and he fell to the ground.
He received immediate medical attention on the pitch for about 10 minutes and it was later revealed that he had suffered a fractured skull. He underwent a successful operation and had to go through a rehab program for the rest of the year as he was keen on returning to play football.
However, on the 13th of February, Mason was forced to announce his retirement at just 26 years of age following medical opinion and expertise.
