A certain League Two player has been left gutted as he retires aged just 27, with his dream over just before it could begin.
Jack Emmett was loving life last summer, having helped guide Harrogate Town to English Football League promotion, winning matches throughout the National League playoffs with the club then winning the final at Wembley.
He was finally going to achieve the dream of being an EFL player with his hometown club after spending many a year in the non league system.
Jack Emmett’s dream of playing for home-town club Harrogate in the EFL is over as he is forced to retire aged of 27 | @justinallen1976
— The Sun Football ⚽ (@TheSunFootball) January 25, 2021
However, with the excitement building and pre-season in full swing, he noticed that he was getting more exhausted than usual after training and some games.
He decided to make a visit to a doctor, where a series of medical tests were performed, he now it’s been confirmed that he has been diagnosed with chronic fatigue.
This has forced him to retire from professional football at the age of 27, just when he was looking forward to League Two action.
Emmett told journalist Justin Allen: “I’d been struggling after games for a couple of years – but it wasn’t something I thought too much about as I believed it was part and parcel of being a footballer.
“It got particularly bad a year ago – especially when I was playing a lot of games: Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday.
“I was exhausted all the time so had some tests done but nothing came back. I thought I was over training or there was something wrong with my recovery.
“But then this summer, during an intense pre-season, it got worse.
“I went back to the doctor and he put me through loads of tests.
“After a few months of that, yet again nothing came back, which was good because it ruled out all sorts of nasty things.
“The doctor has now concluded everything and diagnosed me with chronic fatigue.”
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Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a long-term illness with a wide range of symptoms including the most common which is extreme tiredness, something he suffered from.
It’s more common in women, and tends to develop between those in their mid-20s and mid-40s.
The following symptoms include sleep problems, muscle or joint pain, headaches, a sore throat or sore glands that are not swollen, problems thinking, remembering or concentrating, flu-like symptoms, feeling dizzy or sick, fast or irregular heartbeats (heart palpitations).
Emmett has only played 90 minutes against Leicester City Under 23s in the Papa John’s Trophy back in October, other than that, he hasn’t had any other game time.
He said: “The manager knew I was going through tests and was supportive. I told him I couldn’t play until we got something back that was concrete.
“But with this diagnosis, it was best to take a step away.
“I reached a point when I’d get through training and tended not to feel too bad but then would get home, crash, feel exhausted and struggle to get out of bed.
“It was hard to concentrate on anything. I had brain fog.
“I was just dragging myself through training and hoping it would get better.
“But once it got bad it didn’t matter how many rest days I had. It makes you feel like you’re ill and must sleep it off.
“This happened always after an intense fixture list or tough pre-season.
“It got progressively worse and to the point where I was so exhausted I couldn’t play well.”
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HIS PLANS
“My recovery plan is to not do anything for a while and just rest my body. I’m focussed on that. It can be a long process.
“The consensus is that people my age generally make a full recovery.
“I do want to return to football but it’ll have to be part-time as we don’t know if it’ll come back if I push the body again.
“You have to be careful because overdoing it can lead to other problems.
“But I want to return in some capacity because football has been a big part of my life.”
Having played for his club over seven years, he now hopes to get a job using his degree in accountancy.
“Of course, I’m gutted not to fulfil my dream of playing in the League,” he said.
“But many people haven’t been able to do what I’ve been able to do in football – help take my local club into the EFL. I’m both proud and grateful to have done that.”
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