Aston Villa star Martin Laursen set to quit game

Apr 24 2009 by Bill Howell, Birmingham Mail

‘‘I like being in the world of football, and I’m thinking, it will be something about football once I quit.’’

Laursen, who earned over 50 international caps, has played just once this year since injuring his better knee during Villa’s 1-0 win at West Ham in December.

Despite making just 89 starts for Villa in five seasons he will undoubtedly go down as one of the club’s best defenders in the Premiership era.

His magnificent form last season earned him not only a new contract but also the captaincy this summer. The highlight being his two goals in a thrilling 4-4 draw at White Hart Lane.

Laursen remained coy in his dealings with the Danish press yesterday.

“I’m considering if I should end my career now a year before the contract runs out, or if I should keep playing football and then go through the operation, do the necessary work to get back and then see if I can get back or what has to happen,” he said.

“It’s weird for me in many ways. It really is. I would have liked to keep on playing football. It has gone so well for me lately.

‘‘Both for Villa, but also for me personally, so of course I want to keep on playing.”

He added: “My future will be decided by the end of next week.

“If it turns out that I have to stop playing, then I will be able to look back on a long career that I can be happy about.”

Laursen travelled to America for career-saving surgery from Dr Richard Steadman in September 2005 where he was given just an 80 per cent recovery rate.

He said at the time: “At the back of my mind was the thought ‘would I ever come back again?’”

Laursen spent almost a season in Bologna, Italy, on an intense rehabilitation programme.

“I had to lie down eight hours a day and put my leg in a machine. I was in a hotel room doing this and it was a nightmare.

“It was a big, big operation and that is why Mr Steadman could not tell me 100 per cent that I would come back. Psychologically, that was hard.”