Ex-Chelsea and Fulham player Steve Sidwell retires
Steve Sidwell has announced his retirement from football after 16 seasons as a professional.
Sidwell spent the entirety of last season struggling with injuries, which meant that he could not make a single appearance for Brighton, and has decided to call time on his career as a resiult of the injuries.
He started his career at Arsenal, but never made an appearance for the first team and has loan spells in the lower divisions of English football.
The midfielder made his name at Reading, when he helped them to reach the Premier League for the first time in their history in 2006, and managed to get a move to Chelsea after a season with the 'Royals' in the top division.
Despite only playing one season with the 'Blues', he spent the next seven seasons in the division with Aston Villa, Fulham and Stoke.
He then moved to Brighton, where he played a crucial role in them getting promotion from the Championship in the 2016-17 season, but could not play last year because of his injury problems.
The former England U-21 international made a totoal of 512 appearances in all competitions, scoring 63 goals.
He will now take up a role as a youth coach at his old club Reading.