Injury forces Andy Reid to retire

Former Republic of Ireland international Andy Reid has been forced to retire from professional football after failing to recover from a groin injury.

The 34-year-old midfielder has suffered a poor run of luck with injuries over the past few years but insists that he is retiring “without regrets”.

Reid, who has not played a first team game for nearly two years, started with Cherry Orchard before moving to England where he began and ended his professional career with Nottingham Forest. He also played for Tottenham Hotspur, Charlton Athletic, Sunderland, Sheffield United (loan) and Blackpool.

"I have no regrets and I know I did positive things for every team I played for," he told the Nottingham Post.

"I'm just really, really disappointed that I couldn't finish on a high, maybe with a promotion for Forest. There isn't always a happy ending though.

"I think my fairytale in football is the fact that I've had a long and, in my opinion, good, career. I'm very, very grateful for that.

“I've had some wonderful experiences, played in some big games, for some big clubs, and I've enjoyed every minute of it."

Reid was noted as a superb passer and dead-ball specialist. He was first capped for the Republic of Ireland back in 2003 and made 29 appearance sin all for his country, the last coming against Kazakhstan back in 2013.

His international career was limited somewhat after falling out of favour with manager Giovanni Trapattoni and he remained on the periphery of the squad for a number of years. He was a member of the U16 team that won the UEFA Championship in 1998 and was twice (2003/04 and 2013/14) named on the PFA Championship Team of the Year.

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