Former Watford defender Tommie Hoban has retired from football, aged just 27.

Despite joining Crewe Alexandra at the beginning of last month, the club today confirmed that he would now be retiring instead of playing for them.

Crewe boss David Artell said: "Earlier this morning I had a text off Tommie on the Wednesday before the Cheltenham game, he said he didn't feel quite right, but it was a pleasant message. I gave him a ring and he just told me that he was retiring over the phone and I haven't seen him since.

"That's the long and the short of it. The contract situation has been getting sorted over this last week and unfortunately, Tommie has decided to retire."

While his reasons for retirement are not yet clear, Hoban's time as a football player has hardly been straightforward.

His career has been plagued with injuries, with cruciate ligament surgery required twice and knee and shoulder problems also leading to lengthy spells on the touchlines.

He joined Watford as a youth player back in 2009 and was released ten years following loans to Wealdstone, Blackburn Rovers and Aberdeen.