West Ham United have announced that striker Dean Ashton has been forced to retire from professional football at the age of 26.


Dean Ashton, Carlton Cole
Ashton had not played a first-team game for 14 months and speculation had mounted in recent weeks that the Hammers would announce that his career had been curtailed.

The striker could never fully recover from an ankle injury suffered at England training in August 2006 and West Ham may now seek compensation in the form of a £7 million insurance claim against the Football Association, more on http://www.360naija.com/index.php?topic=161.msg166#msg166