KILDARE MIDFIELDER DERMOT Earley has been forced to call time on his inter-county football.

The 34-year-old, who won two Leinster medals with the Lilywhites since making his debut back in 1997, has struggled with injuries in recent years and made the announcement live on Newstalk’s Sport Sunday this afternoon.

Earley injured his back during the warm-up to Kildare’s league meeting with Dublin at Croke Park back in March and has since gone under the knife twice in an effort to recover fully.

“What I thought was a spasm was a disc that was hitting a nerve and over the next two weeks it got progressively worse.

“I had said this would be my last season so unfortunately this operation has ended my career. I’m quite sad about it but happy enough to make that decision.

You’d like to finish on your own terms and go out on the playing field.

“Your health is your wealth. My body has been through over the last number of years and I think this is just the right decision to give it a rest and let it heal properly.”

Listen to the full Newstalk interview here

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