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Ashton expected to retire
By Soccernet staff
November 9, 2009
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West Ham striker Dean Ashton is expected to officially announce his retirement from professional football by the end of this week.
Empics
Dean Ashton: Struggled with injury.
Ashton has not played a first-team game for 14 months and the Hammers have resigned themselves to losing the 25-year-old, who has struggled to fully recover from an ankle injury suffered at England training in August 2006.
It is believed West Ham are likely to seek compensation in the form of a £7 million insurance claim against the Football Association after medical experts revealed the striker has little chance of competing at the highest level again.
The player may also take action, though it is not certain whether it would be against the FA or Shaun Wright-Phillips - whose tackle caused the initial ankle injury.
Ashton was a product of the famous Crewe Alexandra youth system, which saw manager Dario Gradi bring through the likes of Daviud Platt Danny Murphy, Robbie Savage and Neil Lennon. After playing more then 200 games for the Railwaymen, he became Norwich City's record signing when he joined the Canaries for £3 million in 2005. A string of impressive performances and 17 goals in 44 league appearances earned him a move to West Ham in January 2006 for £7.25 million, where he became a first-team regular.
He has scored 19 goals for the Hammers in 43 games, but for the past three-and-a-half years, the striker has found fitness hard to come by. The ankle break at England training ruled him out for the whole 2006-07 campaign and though he did return, scoring 11 goals in 35 appearances in the 2007-08 campaign, he broke down in new manager Gianfranco Zola's first training session in September 2008.
England boss Fabio Capello rated Ashton highly and tipped him to make a big impact on the international stage, handing him his Three Lions' debut in a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago last summer.
Zola has persistently refused to write-off Ashton but it is understood that the striker has had to admit defeat because of chronic degeneration in the ankle. It is believed he cannot twist or turn or take any impact on the joint and is also in constant discomfort. He has also been given a grave warning that he may be unable to walk properly if he continues to try and play football and may require further surgery in any case.
Just last Friday, Zola reiterated the view that he still hoped Ashton would recover but after taking advice from specialists including Dutch surgeon Niek van Dyke, who originally operated on Ashton, West Ham have reluctantly accepted that the striker's career is over.
The FA beefed up its insurance cover after a dispute with Newcastle United following Michael Owen's injury in the last World Cup but the Ashton claim will have to be dealt with by the previous company.
The announcement is a big blow to West Ham, who have become heavily reliant on Carlton Cole to provide their firepower, though the club will be hoping to recoup some money through its compensation claim, which would likely be used to bolster Zola's attacking options.
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A sad end to a very, very promising career. At one point he could've been the top English striker; certainly built and played like the old-fashioned center-forward. I know he has his fans around here, and tell you what fellas, it's a shitty end.
Stopped reading at 'PR Guru.'