Former Bristol Rovers, Crystal Palace, Peterborough man announces retirement after ‘incredible’ career

Former Bristol Rovers midfielder Jeff Hughes has announced his retirement from professional football as a result of a serious injury.

Hughes announced on Wednesday that he was retiring from the game after suffering a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament injury last month. He was planning to retire at the end of the season with his hometown club Larne, but an operation to treat his injury means his career will end now instead.

In his career, he made two appearances for Northern Ireland and began and finished his career at Larne. Hughes scored three goals for Lincoln City against the Gas in the League Two play-offs in 2007 and a year later he joined the club.

Hughes got injured when he joined on loan from Crystal Palace, but returned in the summer and joined in 2008. He made 140 appearances for the club and scored 30 goals.

"It’s unfortunate that my retirement has come early but I’ve been blessed with an incredible career," he said to the official club website.

“I’ve been blessed with an incredible career that has spanned over 20 years, something that I could only have dreamed of when I first made the move to Lincoln City back in 2005. To play for so many big clubs was a huge honour which I will never take for granted, and I can look back fondly at my time with each of them.

"For now, I will focus on my rehabilitation and would like to thank everyone who has supported me since the injury, and to all of the fans for their support over the past five years."

After leaving Rovers in 2011, he played for Notts County, Fleetwood Town, Cambridge United, and Tranmere Rovers, before winding down his career at Larne. The 37-year-old will now turn his career to coaching and has been appointed as Larne’s head of the youth development phase in the summer. It will be a full-time role at the NIFL Premiership outfit.