Former Preston North End, Celtic and Middlesbrough star forced to retire at 29

Former Preston North End defender Darnell Fisher has had to call playing time on his career after dealing with a serious knee injury.

Fisher has been a free agent since his contract with Middlesbrough expired in the summer, and three months into the season, he remained uncontracted. The 29-year-old suffered a knee injury at the end of the 2020/21 campaign, which put him on the sidelines for two-years.

He played in Boro's final game of the 2022/23 campaign against Coventry City which was 747 days from his previous appearance from the club.

"The time has come to hang my boots up due to my knee injury, I've tried everything to get back to full fitness but it's just not meant to be," he said in a post on his personal Instagram account, and it was accompanied several photos of him during his playing career.

"Thank you to all my team mates, clubs and the fans who have supported me over the years."

In response to the news, current first-team player Brad Potts replied: “All the best mate,” whilst former loan striker Callum Robinson said: My bother man. What a player and team mate. One love Fish.”

As for Fisher's Preston North End career, he was at Deepdale from 2017 to 2021 after signing for an undisclosed fee. He made 119 appearances for the Lilywhites - the most for any of the five clubs he represented - registering 12 assists and one goal.

He played four other teams including career and began at Scottish Premiership giants Celtic after signing his first professional contract in the summer of 2011. He made 21 appearances for the Glasgbow-based outfit winning the league in 2014, and the League Cup in 2015.

The right-back was loaned out to St Johnstone, and made 23 appearances for them before leaving for Rotherham United in the summer of 2016. Fisher turned out 35 times for the Millers but relegation from the Championship saw him snapped up by Alex Neil. He moved to the Riverside Stadium in January 2021 after being bought for a reported £300,000 and made 13 appearances for them.