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Brighton midfielder Enock Mwepu has retired from football at the age of 24 due to a hereditary heart condition, the Premier League club announced on Monday.
Mwepu fell ill last month on a flight to join the Zambia national team in Mali and was treated in a hospital there. He underwent further medical examinations in England.
“This condition, which can worsen over time, would put Enock at extremely high risk of suffering a life-threatening cardiac event if he were to continue playing competitive football,” Brighton said in a statement.
“We are all absolutely devastated for Enock,” Brighton chairman Tony Bloom said. “As a club we will give him all the love, help and support we can to ensure he makes a full recovery and then decides the next steps in his life.”
Mwepu said he had “lived the dream” playing in the Premier League.
“Some dreams do, however, come to an end, so it is with sadness that I announce the need to hang up my boots due to the medical advice I have received,” Mwepu said in a statement.
Mwepu made his debut for Zambia as a teenager while playing for Salzburg. He won four Austrian league titles with Salzburg and played in the Champions League with Erling Haaland. He joined Brighton last year.
