Duff Fears For Career After More Injury Woe!

"The threat of it has always been there. And I hate it. I don't cope with it at all. I am a nightmare to be around and family and friends suffer the brunt of my irritation.

"Long-term, I know the injuries will tale their toll. There are plenty of times when I get out of bed in the morning and feel sore. That's now when I'm 29 so what will it be like when I'm older?

"The fact is I already feel like an old man. It is just so annoying. I hate being injured - but that's my body. There's nothing I can do about it.

"And it's not as if I haven't tried to combat it. Anyone will tell you that I spend as much time in the gym as any player, working on my core body strength so I can build up my resistance.

"But that hasn't stopped me getting the freakiest of things - like the dislocated shoulder in 2004 or the time at Portsmouth when my foot just fell apart. It seems people just press an on-off switch and part of my body goes."