Kyle Bartley told he "deserves lot of respect" after West Brom injury admission - he battled through pain for Albion | OneFootball

Kyle Bartley was forced to retire with one year remaining on his West Brom contract, having played through injury for the club.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Kyle Bartley is due to undergo a knee replacement due to having no ligament remaining, having sacrificed his playing career early to play through an injury while with West Brom.

Having made his final appearance in professional football on the final day of last season in West Brom's 5-3 victory over Luton Town, defender Bartley called time on his playing career this summer because of injury issues.

The 34-year-old picked up a knee injury in the early stages of last season and underwent minor surgery, which was meant to have kept him out of action for at least four to six weeks, with the idea that he would train for at least a week before getting any game time upon his return.

As it transpired, Ousmane Diakite picked up an injury in the warm-up for the Baggies fixture at Sunderland, forcing Bartley back early amid a defensive crisis.

He played 45 minutes in the fixture, but the damage was done, and Bartley faced issues with his knee for the remainder of the season, up until this summer, when he was forced to retire from the sport entirely to undergo operations on his knee.

Speaking to Football League World about Bartley's injury admission following his retirement, our Baggies fan pundit, Callum Burgess, has provided his opinion on the situation.

When asked whether his admiration for Bartley had grown, given the news, Callum said: "One hundred per cent.

"I think Bartley already had a lot of credit in the bank during his time as an Albion player, and I think his spell at the club deserves a lot of respect.

"To play through an injury, which has ended up costing him his career and being able to play on even further into his thirties, I think he deserves a lot of respect for that, and I think Albion fans should be quite appreciative towards him.

"I think there was a large portion of the fanbase where, during Carlos Corberan's spell with the club, that he did end up winning a majority of the fanbase over after coming back from it looking like he wouldn't be able to bounce back after a poor performance against Birmingham City.

"It looked like it was going to be difficult to return from that, but he ended up becoming a crucial player for us during Coberan's spell, and to then continue playing for us through injury.

"I think he definitely deserves some appreciation for that."

Kyle Bartley will always have the respect of West Brom fans for his selfless action

Having joined West Brom in 2018 from Swansea City, few would go on to predict the impact that Bartley would have on the Baggies.

The former Arsenal academy player made 232 appearances in West Brom colours before retiring prematurely this summer, even helping the club to promotion to the Premier League in 2020 and captaining the club in the top-flight.

Although Bartley has been forced to end his playing days against his own will, he has stated that he has no regrets over the decision to continue playing whilst injured.

He told BBC Radio WM: “I was more or less playing games and training very minimally to be honest with you, and trying to manage the swelling in my knee.

"I'm left now with no ligament in my knee and need a knee replacement sooner or later.

"It is what it is. A lot of footballers finish their careers and they've got some kind of serious injuries, but I don't regret any of them."

Thankfully, Albion appear to have done some excellent recruitment work this summer in central defence to help ensure that Bartley was adequately replaced.

Chris Mepham, Nat Phillips and George Campbell respectively, have all already cemented themselves in Ryan Mason's starting XI, albeit with the latter being deployed at right-back in recent games.

Meanwhile, Krystian Bielik is a player who has proven himself to be a good player at Championship level with the likes of Birmingham City and Derby County, and is an excellent piece of squad depth and cover for the Baggies to call upon.