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1 month ago
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Striker Alex Fletcher has retired from football at the age of 25 after he crashed into concrete advertising hoardings during a match, leaving him in a coma.
The Weston-super-Mare forward returned to action last August nine months after the horrific incident which occurred while playing for Bath City in a National League South game against Dulwich Hamlet in November 2022.
The footballer required emergency surgery before embarking on the long process of relearning to walk.
But Fletcher said the collision left him with balance, timing and coordination issues as well as being permanently deaf in his left ear.
This meant that despite an inspiring comeback last year the striker has now decided to call time on his career, adding that he 'didn't feel the same player' as before the accident.
Alex Fletcher has retired from football at the age of 25 after he crashed into concrete advertising hoardings during a match leaving him in a coma
Fletcher, pictured with fiancee Ellie, needed emergency brain surgery and was put into a coma
Fletcher started his career as a Plymouth Argyle academy product and made 24 appearances for the South-West club.
He then had loan spells at Torquay United and Aldershot Town as well as a permanent contract at Tiverton Town before moving to Bath in 2021.
The forward made 56 appearances for the Somerset side, scoring 23 goals, but never featured for the side again after the shock accident which took place when he put a cross into the box and was unable to halt his momentum as he thudded into the boards behind the goal.
Fletcher took up a role at the Brain Health department of the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) last summer where he stressed the importance of looking after your brain as a footballer.
Last October, it was confirmed he had been signed by Weston-super-Mare and the striker scored one goal in eleven appearances for the outfit. He also spent some time on loan at Tiverton Town that season.
Announcing his retirement in an Instagram post, Fletcher said: 'For me carrying on playing football would be one step too far and I'm really gutted about it.
'I think I owed it to myself to get back on the pitch, that really did drive my recovery.
'I felt like if I had that opportunity to return to the pitch stripped away from me I wouldn't have been able to deal with that emotionally.
The Weston-super-Mare forward returned to action last August nine months after the horrific incident
But Fletcher said the collision left him with balance, timing and coordination issues as well as being permanently deaf in his left ear
'Since I've made my recovery back on the pitch there was something about my game that was missing.'
'All three of those components for football is the biggest part of what made me a good player.'
Weston-super-Mare manager Scott Bartlett added that the 25-year-old had 'taken everything in his stride', the BBC reports.
He added: 'He is an intelligent person with a great family, who recently had a very important new addition. That is obviously the most important thing.
'I have not known Alex for long in the grand scheme of things but he had made an impression on me and the rest of our club.'
Last April, Fletcher opened up on his experience of undergoing emergency brain surgery.
There was immediate concern for Fletcher as he received immediate medical attention and the game was swiftly abandoned.
He revealed the game being called off quickly highlighted to him the severity of the injury he had sustained.
'At that point I knew it had to be serious,' Fletcher told The Guardian as he reflected on the abandonment.
'I actually remember feeling a bit of guilt, thinking: "Oh no, Dulwich have come all the way from London". I know what it is like, a massive pain to have to make that journey again, especially on a Tuesday night.'
Fletcher said he was blown away by the support he had received since the shocking incident
The forward was transported to hospital via ambulance, and has recalled telling himself that he needed to remain conscious for fear that he may not wake up again if he passed out.
'I felt like if I fell asleep or passed out, that could have been it, really,' he continued.
'I was telling myself: "You have to stay awake for as long as you can." I suppose it was that kind of sink-or-swim reaction. Then I remember the lights as I was wheeled into the hospital, really bright lights above my head. Subconsciously I knew I had made it somewhere where I would be looked after. I blanked out after that.'
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