24-year-old Zambian and Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Enoch Mwepu has been forced to retire from the game after being diagnosed with a hereditary heart issue.
The football player said that he was forced to retire from the sport after he was told that the condition could ‘put him at extremely high risk of a potentially fatal cardiac event’ if he continued playing.
A statement by his club side, Brighton also added in a statement that the condition ‘would put Enock at an extremely high risk of suffering a potentially fatal cardiac event if he were to continue playing competitive football’.
‘’I am so sorry for Enock,’ Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi said.
‘’Before I arrived I looked at all the squad, and he was a player I was so excited and looking forward to working with. We will do everything we can to help him.’
Brighton chairman Tony Bloom added: ‘We are all absolutely devastated for Enock.
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‘’He and his family have had a traumatic few weeks and while we are just thankful he has come through that period, he has seen such a promising career cut short at such a young age.”
Mwepu said he hoped to continue his involvement in the sport after receiving the devastating news.
”A boy from a small Zambian township called Chambishi has some news to share,’ Mwepu wrote in a statement on social media.
‘’He stood strong to follow his dream of playing football at the highest level, and by the grace of God he achieved his dream by reaching the Premier League.
‘’Some dreams however come to an end, so it is with sadness that I announce the need to hang up my boots because of the medical advice I have received.
‘’This is however not the end of my involvement with football, I plan to stay involved in some capacity.’
