Borussia Dortmund's Niklas Sule has chosen to retire this summer at the age of 30.
The Germany defender injured his knee in last month's Bundesliga defeat at Hoffenheim and initially thought he had suffered a cruciate ligament tear for the third time.
Although he then discovered he had avoided a cruciate ligament tear, Sule says he already felt that his career "was over" as he did not want to risk another serious injury.
The ex-Bayern Munich and Hoffenheim player was set to be out of contract on 30 June and will retire after the final game of the season.
After initial tests on his knee, Sule said on the Spielmacher podcast, that he “went into the shower and cried for 10 minutes”.
"In that moment, I really thought: 'It's torn'," he added.
"When I went for the MRI the next day and received the good news [that it was not a cruciate ligament tear], it was 1,000% clear to me that it was over.
"I couldn't imagine anything worse than actually looking forward to the time afterward – being independent, going on vacation, spending time with my children – but then having to process my third cruciate ligament tear."
Sule won five Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich, as well as the Champions League in 2020, before joining Dortmund in 2022.
He has made 49 appearances for Germany, playing in two World Cups and helping them win the Confederations Cup in 2017.
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