Injury leaves former Tottenham and Southampton defender Toby Alderweireld facing a premature retirement | OneFootball

Former Tottenham and Southampton defender Toby Alderweireld announced earlier this season that he is going to retire from football at the end of the current campaign. However, an injury means that the veteran defender may not be able to feature again this season for Antwerp and will thus already be in retirement. It is certainly not the way his career deserved to end, with Alderweireld still being a key performer for Antwerp and the club captain.

However, the club reported on Monday, the former Belgian international is facing a race against time to be back in action. During the sides 0-0 draw with Standard Liege on Sunday, Alderweireld tore his quadricep, an injury that usually takes a substantial amount of time to recover from.

Despite having only appeared at Antwerp during the twilight of his career, Alderweireld will retire as a legend of the Great Old. It was he who scored a dramatic late goal to deliver the side its first title since 1957, while also leading them to a double that season as they secured the cup.

GBeNeFN | Ben Jackson