Londoner Fraser Franks, a former Chelsea apprentice, is ‘devastated’ at being told to retire from playing football on medical grounds.
Hammersmith-born Franks, 28, has a heart problem and doctors have told him to stop playing.
He spent a week in hospital because of an irregular heartbeat, was unable to train and medics then told him ‘You have to retire’.
Franks is hoping to ‘remain in football in some capacity.’
https://twitter.com/NewportCounty/status/1109061892335640577
The defender has made 34 appearances for the Exiles this season, having joined the Welsh side from Stevenage in 2018.
He played 320 games in his career and captained County in their Emirates FA Cup win against Leicester City, but he has not featured for Newport since mid February.
“He’s a great lad and somebody I tried really hard to bring to the football club because I knew he was such a good leader and player,” said manager Michael Flynn.
“I’m devastated for him personally and it’s a big blow for the team as well.
“He knows I’m always going to be there for him. He has been fantastic for Newport but the most important thing is his long-term health.”
— Fraser Franks (@Fraserfranks) March 21, 2019
Franks is expecting his first child in the coming weeks with his pop star wife Stacey McClean, who was a member of S Club 8 and appeared on X Factor.
He issued a statement, saying: “Devastated to have to announce my retirement from football.
“After becoming ill last month and spending a week in hospital I underwent a number of scans and tests on my heart. “Cardiologists found an issue with the heart and I have been forced to retire from football.
“I’ve had various second opinions and it’s clear that I will have to take the medical advice and unfortunately call time on my playing career.”
While Franks comes to terms with the decision forced on him, leading scorer Padraig Amond believes Newport’s current break from playing has come at the right time.
Their scheduled League Two fixture against Oldham Athletic was called off because the Latics’ had four players called up for international duty and Newport’s next match is at Yeovil on Saturday, March 30.
“It’s a little bit different for all of us to have this gap now with no games in 15 days and then we’ve got four games in 15 days after that,” said Amond.
“It’s nice to have a break because there had been a lot of games.
“We should be physically and mentally a little bit fresher going into the last nine games of the season.”
Flynn is demanding his players fight on until the end of the season no matter what happens during the remaining fixtures.
“I won’t let our season peter out,” he said. “If anybody thinks the season will peter out they will be on the scrapheap next summer.
“I’m not even thinking about the play-offs, but the players have to think about their futures over the next nine games.
“If they want to take their foot off the gas they won’t be ruining my career, but they can ruin their own.”
Goalkeeper Joe Day, Dan Butler, Mickey Demetriou, Mark O’Brien, David Pipe, Tyler Forbes, Joss Labadie, Andrew Crofts, Matty Dolan, Will Randall and Josh Sheehan are all out of contract this summer.