Former Manchester United goalkeeper Paul Woolston says he was told he would struggle to walk.
The shot stopper had to retire when he was only 23, despite being a promising young keeper.
He joined United from Newcastle in 2018, playing 13 games for the club's Under-23 side.
However, a serious hip problem meant that he had to call it quits before his career got going.
"The advice of the specialists was if I continued for another two years, my way of life would be totally different, that I would struggle to walk," the 23-year-old told BBC Sport.
"It would be a full hip replacement at the age of 25. From there it is a long road. It was simple things like, if I am lucky to have kids in the future, I didn't want to say: 'Sorry, I can't do it because I have ruined my hip.'"
He added on the moment he received the prognosis: "I completely zoned out. Is he talking about me? Is this real? Surely this is wrong? It can't be me. It can't be right.
"It took a while to deal with it. At the start there was lots of 'why me's?,' 'what have I done wrong?'. I wasn't wishing it on anyone else but it was: 'Why couldn't it happen to someone else?' I was right at the start of my career. It hasn't really started. It was like: 'Why? Why has it stopped my dreams coming true?'
"I had a few days where I wasn't thinking straight and I had scenarios running through my head.
"Once I fully understood what I needed to do, it was easier to know why instead of blaming myself and others. It is something that happened. It is life. It is tough. It is difficult. But there is not much you can do."
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