Thompson’s career cut short by injury

Former Ireland international John Thompson says he’s still recovering from the horror challenge which forced him to retire yesterday at just 31.

The Dubliner, one of seven players from Brian Kerr’s 1998 U16 European Champions to gain senior recognition, was most recently with Mansfield, who won promotion back to the football league.

In 2011, Thompson and two Mansfield team-mates were seriously injured and left hospitalised by Ilkeston player-coach Gary Ricketts during a pre-season friendly.

“I had almost 60 stitches in my face, broke my nose, damaged my shoulder, and dislocated my finger,” said Thompson yesterday. “I needed to have a major operation on my nose so I could breathe through it again and I could only eat through a straw for nearly a month. That was something that should never have happened on a football pitch.

“When I eventually got back playing after overcoming most of the physical issues, I soon realised I was doing things which I wouldn’t normally do on the pitch.”

Thompson, whose sole senior cap came against Canada in 2003 under Brian Kerr, concluded: “The last two years have been the hardest of my life. My recovery is still ongoing.”