Ryan Shawcross: Former Stoke City captain announces retirement

After leaving Stoke City last January, Ryan Shawcross played for a season in the MLS for Inter Miami

Former Stoke City captain Ryan Shawcross has announced his retirement at the age of 34, due to a back injury.

Shawcross played 401 times and scored 22 goals during his 13 years at Stoke, and won one England cap in 2012.

After leaving the Potteries he spent a season at Inter Miami in the MLS before he picked up a back injury in August.

"Despite stepping out of my playing career due to injury, my passion for the game is still intact," he told the Inter Miami website.

"Having secured my coaching licenses, I am looking forward to pursuing a career in coaching."

A trainee at Manchester United, Shawcross is best known for being at the heart of Stoke's 10-year stay in the Premier League from 2008 to 2018, most notably under former manager Tony Pulis.

The centre-half was appointed captain in May 2010 and skippered the team in their FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City in 2011.

That good form at club level won him his only England cap, under Roy Hodgson, in a 4-2 friendly defeat to Sweden in November 2012.

Following the Potters' relegation from the top flight, Shawcross was dogged by injuries and had his contract cancelled last year before joining Phil Neville's Inter Miami - where he made 12 appearances.