Jamaican coach and broadcaster Neville Bell has recalled how a scoliosis diagnosis and injury forced him to accept the end of his professional playing career.
Speaking on the No NDA Podcast, Bell said football had been the central ambition of his life and that he initially struggled to imagine living without playing the sport.
Bell said he tore a muscle and subsequently discovered that he had scoliosis, a condition he had not previously known he had.
According to Bell, he was presented with the possibility of surgery but was told that success could not be guaranteed.
He described the decision as a choice between undergoing the procedure in the hope of continuing his playing career or avoiding surgery and quitting football.
Bell ultimately decided not to continue playing.
He recalled spending approximately a week processing the end of that chapter before deciding that he had to move forward.
Bell said the experience helped shape an approach he continues to value in himself: accepting circumstances he cannot change and eventually moving on rather than remaining consumed by them.