Hip Injury Leads To Huckerby Retirement

San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Darren Huckerby has told an English newspaper he is "99% sure" that he has played his last competitive game, likely forced into an early retirement because of a hip injury that required surgery last week.


Bursting onto the American scene last July, Huckerby went on to total six goals and four assists in 14 appearances, earning 2008 MLS Newcomer of the Year honors along the way. This season, however, the former Norwich City hero has bounced in and out of the starting lineup with a series of injuries, and has been noticeably less effective in his limited time on the pitch, tallying just three goals and two assists in 14 games.

Speaking to the Eastern Daily Press, Huckerby said, "I've got to give it a chance to see how it is, but I'm 99% sure that I am done. Is there any point playing just for the sake of it? I spoke to Gordon Strachan and he said to me that if you can't influence a game like you did, it's time to walk away. The last couple of months I haven't been influencing games as I know that I can do."

Huckerby underwent surgery last week to repair a torn labrum, but doctors quickly discovered that the situation was worse than expected.

"The last few months have been difficult for me. I've been trying to play and been severely hindered and now we know why," Huckerby admitted. "The operation was a success, but we're talking about 3-5 months of rehabilitation. Before the operation, I was diagnosed with a labral hip tear, which I'd had for some time, but when they went in, it wasn't just a labral tear, there wasn't any labral left. It was completely shredded so they have had to go in and reconstruct a new one."

While many Canaries supporters had hoped for a Huckerby return to Carrow Road, this latest injury virtually insures that, if such a return were to happen, it certainly wouldn't be in a playing capacity. However, the 33-year-old sounds an optimistic tone when asked if he'd be interested in a coaching career.

"I haven't spoken to Norwich. There's a new manager in there and he's got his own people in. I want to learn off the best and [current manager Paul] Lambert knows what he's doing. He seems to be building a decent team and while I'm getting my coaching badges, I want to learn off winners and learn off people who know how to manager. We'll have to see what happens."