Former Man United star Ashley Young reveals he needs a hip replacement at 41 after admitting it was too painful to train for three months

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 had seen Young notably represent Man United and Aston Villa, as well as having spells with Watford, Inter Milan and Everton.

Young, who also represented England at the 2012 European Championships and the 2018 World Cup, had been restricted to just 15 appearances during the final season of his career.

Speaking on the High Performance Podcast, Young explained how a specialist had revealed the extent of his hip problem after suffering 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.

Ashley Young, who retired at the end of last season, has revealed he will need to have a hip replacement

'Basically I need a hip replacement, in November I was told I would need it in about 10 years time.

'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”.

‘About a week before I am about to have the injection, I go down on it in training and I am like “this is worse, I know it is a lot worse”.'

Young explained that the specialist informed him that his hip had become 'much worse' and he will likely have around two years before he would need a replacement.

He admitted the injury had come as a result of 'overuse' following a career that had seen him make 765 club appearances, as well as earning 39 England caps.

The 41-year-old added he had been unable to train for around three months due to the pain, but went through the pain barrier in an attempt to help Ipswich seal promotion.

‘Basically I am bone on bone from years of overuse,' Young added.

'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 revealed that overuse during his 23-year playing career has resulted in him having little cartilage in his hip, resulting in his joint being bone on bone

The 41-year-old said Ipswich's promotion to the Premier League was a fitting end to his career

‘From January to the end of the season, I literally had two or three months where I couldn’t train it was that painful. I saw the specialist again and said “I’m not going out like this”. He said he didn’t want to give me another injection as it would weaken the area.

‘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.”

'The last two months of the season I was training every day and he was like “it is not possible, you shouldn’t be training”.

‘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.

'It would have been incredible to come onto the pitch for the last game of the season but for me to train like I did that week and for us to be promoted on the last day of the season, it was fitting.'

Ipswich's promotion was the final achievement of Young's playing career, which included winning the Premier League, Europa League, FA Cup and League Cup at Man United.

Young also won Serie A in 2021 during his spell at Inter Milan.

Young would not be the first former Premier League star to need a hip replacement, with former Tottenham cult hero Erik Lamela revealing in April that he had gone under the knife.

Lamela expressed hope a new hip would give him a 'pain free life' after 11 years of discomfort.