Premier League footballer forced to retire from concussion

Andy Wilkinson is about as obscure as it gets for Premier League footballers.

The former Stoke City full-back did play over 120 times for his hometown club in England's top flight though, and has been with the club over 14 years. However, Wilkinson has been forced to retire from professional football, after being unable to recover from a head injury. The 31 year old had not played since February 14th last year, when he suffered concussion in a game involving Millwall, where Wilkinson was on-loan, and Blackburn Rovers."The blow to the head damaged the part of my brain that deals with sight," Wilkinson told the Stoke Sentinel. "It affects my peripheral vision and it gets worse when I train, when I get my heart-rate up." "Everything is blurred. I am affected by vertigo too. I have seen a raft of specialists and they have said the only thing that will heal it is time." Wilkinson's contract with Stoke expired last summer, but the club offered him a new, non-playing deal, in an effort to help the player regain match fitness. However, Wilkinson has been forced to retire. According to the Stoke Sentinel there are plans to reward the player with a testimonial.