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Stoke City old boy announces retirement due to injury at age of 32

Tommy Smith, right, has had to retire due to injury at the age of 32.
-Credit:George Wood/Getty Images


Former Stoke City full-back Tommy Smith is retiring from playing at the age of 32 due to injury.

Smith ruptured an Achilles tendon in October 2023 and has been unable to return to play. He will continue his rehabilitation at Middlesbrough, where he was under contract until next summer, but has had to admit that he will not get back on the pitch for the club.

He had found a new lease of life at the Riverside under Michael Carrick after leaving Stoke in the summer of 2022, having made 106 appearances over three seasons. He had been signed by Nathan Jones from Huddersfield to be the flying right-back in a diamond formation but spent most of his time at the club working under Jones's successor Michael O'Neill.

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Smith helped Boro surge up the Championship table to qualify for the play-offs in 2022/23, losing in the semi-finals to Mark Robins' Coventry, but he was left devastated by an injury picked up against Birmingham near the start of the following season.

He has turned his hand to punditry while he has been sidelined, including working as co-commentator for Radio Stoke covering Stoke City, and in the studio for Championship matches with Sky Sports.

In a message posted on social media and the Middlesbrough website, he wrote: "Looking back on my 15 years as a professional, it fills me with enormous pride and while it’s very emotional coming to terms with this decision, I can’t help but smile at the outcome, the amazing people I’ve met, the special memories I’ve made and everything I’ve achieved in the game.

"I’ve come a long way since being a little boy with big dreams, from starting out at Manchester City from age 11-20, to then spending seven years at Huddersfield, two of which playing in the greatest league in the world, the Premier League, a further three years at Stoke and finally three years at Middlesbrough. In total I made 353 career appearances and I could not have wished for four better football clubs to be part of my footballing journey. I’m eternally grateful for the love and support from everyone connected to all four.

"To the club owners I’ve played for, the managers and coaches I’ve played under, all the players I’ve played alongside and to all the fans who’ve supported myself and the teams I’ve represented over the years through thick and thin. Thank you all."

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