GARY CALDWELL has been forced to call time on his remarkable career because his troublesome hip meant it was too painful to train never mind play for struggling Wigan Athletic.
The former Celtic and Scotland captain did not want to contemplate the ultimate nightmare scenario but, at the age of the 32, he knew it was over.
Now he is hoping to build a new career in coaching while doing anything he can to assist the perilous position Wigan occupy in the Championship.
The former Parkhead skipper, who won two titles, the Scottish Cup and the League Cup, has been given a role in the Wigan academy but he is unsure what will happen at the end of the season, particularly if the Latics plunge into League One.
Ironically, his last match for Wigan was against Queen's Park Rangers in the Premiership Play-Off semi-finals last season which indicates just how far the Lancashire club have fallen.
He won 55 caps for Scotland and, of course, famously scored the winner against France at Hampden on October 11 2006 to elate the nation but now his international career is just memories.
Caldwell said: "That's the end for me. I have been struggling for years to be perfectly honest and even training was becoming really panful.
"I had the second operation on my left hip just under two years ago and while it helped a little bit I was never the same again. I played four games and that was it.
"The first time I got the operation it was a success and it had a good effect.
"But the surgeon was honest with me when I went in the second time in the summer of 2013 and said that he wasn't sure if it was going to help me.
"So it's something I knew was coming.
"Of course you want to play but I also wanted to get into coaching and I have the chance now rather than wondering 'what am I going to do now?'
"In the summer II tried to keep playing but Uwe Rosler also wanted me to get involved in the academy side of the club.
"I tried to play as much as possible in pre-season but I was really struggling and I was in pain every day at training."
New boss Malky Mackay, who is desperately trying to keep Wigan in the Championship, is hoping to give Caldwell a permanent coaching role next season but it may all depend on the club's status.
Caldwell added: "When Malky came in he asked how I was and I admitted that was struggling and so he told me why not cut everything right back and focus on the academy and also come and watch him work with the first team.
"So I have been really thankful that I have been given the opportunity to do that while I can.
"I'm not sure what will happen at the end of the season. Malky has said he hopes to keep me at the club but he's not sure in what role yet.
"Of course there are a lot more pressing matters on our minds at the moment so I'm just helping as much as I can at the moment so we will find out at the end of the season."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article