Former Man United and England star Ashley Young has revealed he requires a hip replacement, with the issue having led to his retirement. Young, who turned 41 in July, announced his decision to retire at the end of last season after helping Ipswich secure promotion back to the Premier League. It ended a 23-year career that saw Young represent Man United and Aston Villa, as well as Watford, Inter Milan and Everton.
Young represented England at the 2012 European Championships and the 2018 World Cup, earning 39 caps alongside making 765 club appearances. He was restricted to just 15 appearances during the final season of his career due to the injury. Speaking on the High Performance Podcast, Young explained how a specialist revealed the extent of his hip problem after he suffered an issue last November.
"I went down on my hip in November and had an injection. I have always said to myself 'If my body is saying you need injections, there is a problem, you need to think about retiring,'" Young said.
"Basically I need a hip replacement, in November I was told I would need it in about 10 years time," Young explained. "I got to January and was due to have another injection which would have got me through to the end of the season, as I was saying to the specialist 'I know it is painful, but I want to make sure I do everything I can possibly do to help the team'."
A week before the planned injection, Young suffered another setback in training. "I go down on it in training and I am like 'this is worse, I know it is a lot worse,'" he recalled. The specialist subsequently informed him that his hip had become much worse and that he will likely have around two years before he would need a replacement.
Cartilage loss from overuse
Young admitted the damage resulted from overuse across his 23-year playing career. "Basically I am bone on bone from years of overuse," Young said. Physios and doctors questioned whether he had prior hip problems because there was no cartilage left in the joint.
"The physios and doctors have said to me, particularly this season 'have you had a problem with your hip before' and I was like 'No', they were like 'are you sure because you are basically bone on bone, there is no cartilage there, that is why you are getting so much pain,'" Young added.
The pain left Young unable to train for around three months during the second half of the season, but he pushed through to help Ipswich seal promotion. "From January to the end of the season, I literally had two or three months where I couldn't train it was that painful," he said. The specialist advised against another injection because it would weaken the area.
Young refused to give up on making a final appearance. "I asked him 'are you telling me I can't play football again, you can say it if you want, trust me if I get an opportunity to be back on the pitch, I'll be back on the pitch,'" Young said. His specialist responded that it was not possible and that he should not be training.
Final games and career trophies
Despite the medical warnings, Young trained every day during the final two months of the season and made himself available for Ipswich's final three matches. "Medically I don't think I should have been out on the pitch but I made sure I was available for the last three games of the season. I travelled with the team and was with them every week," he said. He added that training that week and securing promotion on the final day was a fitting end to his playing career.
The promotion with Ipswich marked the final achievement of a decorated career for Young. During his time at Man United, he won the Premier League, Europa League, FA Cup and League Cup. He also won Serie A in 2021 while playing for Inter Milan.
Young is not the only former Premier League player to face hip surgery. Former Tottenham cult hero Erik Lamela revealed in April that he had gone under the knife for a hip replacement after 11 years of discomfort, expressing hope it would give him a pain-free life.
