Mawson retires from football aged 29 due to knee injury

Wycombe defender Alfie Mawson has announced his retirement because of a knee problem.

The 29-year-old played in the Premier League for Swansea and Fulham and was called up once by England in 2018 but has been increasingly troubled by knee pain.

Mawson first made his mark on loan at Wycombe from Brentford in 2014-15 and rejoined the Chairboys last summer, with his final appearance coming against Ipswich in December.

Mawson said on wwfc.com: “It might come as a shock to some people but, to me, it’s been coming for a while.

“I had some time off around Christmas after feeling some pain in my knee and the pain hasn’t gone away. I went for a scan and unfortunately the damage was done.

“It’s devastating, but it’s how life goes. I was nearly in this situation in the summer, and I’d fallen out of love with the game. I think, if I’d retired then, I wouldn’t have wanted to even watch football again. But coming back here has made me fall back in love with it.

“I knew this day was going to come – it’s just sooner than I had hoped. But there’s a lot worse things going on in the world and that makes you realise that, at the end of the day, it’s a job.”

Wycombe boss Gareth Ainsworth praised Mawson, saying: “I’m immensely proud to have worked with Alfie at the start and now what has sadly proved to be the end of his playing career, and what a journey he has had.

“We always knew in those early days that he had the ability and the character to be able to play at the highest level, and he worked so hard to achieve his dream.”

Wycombe will celebrate Mawson’s career when the Blues take on his former club Barnsley at Adams Park on March 18.