Borussia Dortmund defender Niklas Sule has announced that he will retire this summer at the age of 30, News.Az reports, citing Al Jazeera.

The Germany international suffered a knee injury during last month’s Bundesliga defeat against TSG Hoffenheim and initially feared he had torn his cruciate ligament for a third time.

Although further examinations later confirmed that he had avoided another cruciate ligament injury, Sule said the experience convinced him that his playing career was over because he did not want to risk suffering another major setback.

The former Bayern Munich and Hoffenheim defender is set to leave the sport when his contract expires on June 30, retiring after the final match of the season.

Speaking on the Spielmacher podcast, Sule recalled the emotional moment following the first medical tests on his knee.

“I went into the shower and cried for 10 minutes,” he said.

“In that moment, I really thought: ‘It’s torn.’”

He added that after receiving MRI results confirming the ligament was intact, he immediately realized he no longer wanted to continue playing professionally.

“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,” Sule said.

“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.”

During his career, Sule won five Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich and lifted the UEFA Champions League trophy in 2020 before joining Dortmund in 2022.

He also made 49 appearances for Germany national football team, featuring in two FIFA World Cups and helping Germany win the FIFA Confederations Cup in 2017.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev