Former Brighton and Hove Albion star Lars Dendoncker has been forced to retire from football at just 22 due to a heart condition.
The Belgian star took to Instagram to announce the news, where he wrote an emotional post.
Dendoncker said: “Hi everyone, where do I start?
“As a child, I only had one dream. Become a professional football player. But my professional career and dream has come to a very early end.
“Because of my heart condition, I have decided to stop playing because of my own health.
“This was and will be the hardest decision ever in my life. But there is no going back and I have to look in the future. This will take time to process.
“I’ve learned a lot throughout the years and had to sacrifice a lot. So this really hurts.”
Lars Dendoncker is the younger brother of Aston Villa midfielder Leander and moved to England in 2020 to join Brighton’s youth set-up. The Belgian star went on loan to Scottish club St. Johnstone in 2021/22, where he made six appearances, before being released by the Premier League club in May last year.
The player never found a new club and has now had to cut his career short due to his health.
This is an awful decision for a young player to have to make but he will hopefully have great success in whatever he decides to do next.
Another “vaccine” injury?
Sad for the guy.
Most such things are hereditary
This is the second player at Brighton after Enock Mwepu’ also retired about 8 months ago from the same heart condition.
Why jump to the vaccine theory. Who said he even had 1
It fits the anti-vaxx industry narrative.
Why is anyone who chose not to take medical intervention an anti vax..there could be a genuine reason…
There is not an anti vax industry. There is a multi hundred billion dollar vax industry though.