Leeds United defender Ben Parker considering quitting the game over a succession of career-threatening injuries.
Whites full-back nearly called time on career
Leeds United defender Ben Parker considering quitting the game over a succession of career-threatening injuries.
The 24-year-old has made four starts for the Whites since suffering a hip injury against Exeter in August 2009.
Parker has spent the past two-and-a-half years on the sidelines following a series of operations and failed comebacks, a period of frustration that nearly came to a head.
The left-back has admitted bursting into tears in chief executive Shaun Harvey's office and had it not been for the club's support he could have called it quits.
Support
"It got to the point where I considered not playing again, but thanks to Harvey Sharman and the physios. I can't pay enough respect to what they have done for me," he told the club's
official website.
"I was in Harvey's office one day, crying my eyes out, saying I was getting nowhere, but thankfully he was there to support me and dragged me through these difficult times.
"It started with my hips, then my back, then it got my Achilles, hamstring, groin...it really has been one thing after another. You could never put your finger on it and deal with it because up until the past few months there's always been something niggling me."
Parker added: "People have said I look a yard sharper or fitter and that's brilliant. I need to go out on loan, to prove to myself that I can play games without getting any injury and to show the football world I'm still here and can play."
