Karl Sheppard has said he felt like he "let Shelbourne down" last season as the debilitating effects of psoriatic arthritis left him fatigued and in constant pain.
The striker announced his retirement from the game on Sunday aged just 29 due to a condition he has been living with for three years.
The Dubliner won league titles with Shamrock Rovers in 2011 and Cork City in 2017 along with two FAI Cups on Leeside in 2016 and 2017.
He moved to Shels from Cork City in November 2019 but by then he was feeling the impact of his arthritis.
"It's about three years now since I've been diagnosed with the arthritis," he told the RTÉ Soccer Podcast.
"The first year I went on a completely vegan diet, a plant-based diet to see if that would help. Apparently it can help with inflammation. That was no luck.
"I've tried different types of steroid injections that I've gone from taking weekly to two every month.
"I've tried everything I can from training more, training less; more gym, less gym. But I've never been able to find anything that keeps my body right. It just wouldn't be right to keep continuing on as well.
"It's not fair to clubs for me to be playing when I can't be right. Last year I felt I really let Shelbourne down because I wasn't able to give 100% Karl Sheppard to the club.
"That's not right on me and not right on my team-mates.
"I loved every minute of playing in the League of Ireland. I honestly tried absolutely everything to be able to play next season but for the last two seasons my body has been in serious agony.
"It was getting to the point where I had to weigh up the options and say, 'if I do another year or two I could potentially be not walking right for the rest of my life or it could have ongoing effects on my body'.
"It's time to listen to the body and say now is the time to stop."
Sheppard went into further detail about the condition that has changed his life.
"My body basically attacks any inflammation within my body - tendons especially," he said. "I've had ongoing problems in my back, my knees, even my wrists and my thumbs have been giving me a fair bit of agony over the last while.
"It's been pretty bad for the last two years definitely, even nearly three.
"It's very fatiguing on the body. If you watched my games from when I was 19 up to when I was about 26, one of my big pros as a player was I was always running my socks off, I had a very good work rate.
"Fans would say I suppose the last two years, 'that guy is not trying as much as he used to'. But I'd be trying even more - the body just wouldn't be able to do it.
"Longer term, if I keep active, that's the main thing for arthritis. They actually promote to you keep active. It's about keeping active without putting too many demands on the body."
As for his next step, Sheppard admitted he' doesn't want to turn his back on the game, with a role at Shelbourne - where Damien Duff is working with the under-17s - on the cards.
"I'd love to stay involved in the game, do some coaching. I'm still fairly young and ambitious about going into coaching and hopefully one day coaching in the League of Ireland.
"I know that Damien is there [at Shels]. I'd say he has his hands full with applications from people trying to get in with him. I have spoken with Shels about possibly getting a bit of work with them in the underage structure.
"Look, if I happen to come across Damien, I've heard amazing things about his sessions... it's certainly something I'd love to do, but I'm sure he has his hands full with people looking to get down and watch his sessions."
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