Dean Ashton, the West Ham United and England striker, has finally admitted defeat in his battle with a persistent ankle problem. It is expected that his retirement from playing will be announced by his club this week.
What had begun as one of the most momentous moments of Ashton’s career, when he was called up by England for the first time, in August 2006, has cruelly proved to be the beginning of the end of his career. Ashton, who will be 26 this month, broke his left ankle in his first training session, in Manchester, with the first England squad of Steve McClaren, then the new head coach, in preparation for a friendly match against Greece.
He was injured in a collision with Shaun Wright-Phillips, the Manchester City winger who was playing for Chelsea at the time. Ashton could consider making an insurance claim against the FA and/or Wright-Phillips.
West Ham will be making an insurance claim, believed to be about £7 million, for the loss of Ashton. However, any claim by the club against the FA could become complex, with Ashton having appeared to recover from the initial injury.
Although he missed a full season, he came back to make 35 appearances, scoring 11 goals, in the 2007-08 campaign. It earned him a new five-year contract at Upton Park, with wages believed to be in the region of £60,000 a week. He also won an England cap under Fabio Capello, playing against Trinidad & Tobago in June last year.
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Ashton had earned high praise from Capello when the Italian succeeded McClaren and became England manager. Had the player’s injured ankle stood up to the rigours of the Barclays Premier League, he could have been contemplating a place in Capello’s squad for the World Cup finals in South Africa next year.
However, he broke down in September last year and has not played since. “There is no definitive decision yet,” an Upton Park source said last night. “But it’s not looking good.”
Ashton last had surgery in February, when Niek van Dijk, the Dutch surgeon who has treated Cristiano Ronaldo, Michael Ballack and Robin van Persie, travelled to London to operate. At one stage this year, the signs were encouraging. Gianfranco Zola, the West Ham manager, and Ashton were happy with the slow yet steady progress. Soon, though, it became obvious that although Ashton could run, twisting or turning was impossible.
The former Crewe Alexandra and Norwich City striker is suffering from chronic degeneration of the ankle and has been advised that should he try to continue playing, he may face the prospect of not being able to walk properly in the future. Further surgery has not been ruled out, either.
After West Ham’s 2-1 defeat by Everton on Sunday, Zola said: “Until someone tells me that Dean isn’t going to make it, I’m still confident he is going to come back. For the boy and for us, we hope he will make it.”