"If it wasn’t for my health, I’d be here with a different announcement. I actually felt good at the start of the year. Then, when I hurt my back, I kind of had an idea that this would be my last year. I tried really hard to come back and play a few games and see if I could do it.

"But over the summer, you have to face reality. And I just didn’t think I could be the player I wanted to be. I always said to myself, the minute I thought I’d slip and not be the player that I wanted to be, it was time for me to go."