Ex-Baggies defender Bartley needs knee replacement

Kyle Bartley joined West Bromwich Albion in 2018 and made 232 appearances for the club

Former West Bromwich Albion captain Kyle Bartley says he will need a knee replacement because he has "no ligament left" in the joint.

The 34-year-old played his final game for the Baggies in their 5-3 Championship win over Luton Town on the last day of the 2024-25 season.

Although he had another year on his contract at The Hawthorns, the injury forced him to announce his retirement on the eve of the current campaign.

Bartley told BBC Radio WM he "didn't regret" any of the injuries he had suffered during his career but when he came off against the Hatters, he did not necessarily think it would end up being his final game.

"Not really," he said. "There was always a little doubt after I had the knee operation earlier on in the season and I think I came back from that within four weeks which was probably quicker than I should've done."

Bartley underwent what was described as "minor surgery" to "clean" out his knee in late October 2024 and was expected to be back within four to six weeks.

He had already missed six games when an injury to Ousmane Diakite in the warm-up before Albion's game at Sunderland on 26 November led to then head coach Carlos Corberan asking Bartley whether he could step in.

"At the time it was desperate need as we didn't have any defenders fit," Bartley said.

"I'd only trained the day before and done half the session, and the plan was for me to train for a week to 10 days before getting any game time but we had an injury going into that game.

"Then Ousmane got an injury in the warm-up and Carlos asked me if I could do 45 minutes and I said 'yeah I'll do my absolute best'."

Bartley managed to play the first half as the Baggies secured a point in a 0-0 draw at the Stadium of Light.

But he said he was aware of issues in his knee for the remainder of the season.

"That probably took a little bit out of my knee coming back that early and for the rest of the season I was more or less playing games and training very minimally and just trying to manage the swelling in my knee," he said.

Bartley, who has gained a Diploma in Sporting Directorship and is working on a Masters in Football and Business since retiring, suffered a number of knee injuries throughout his career.

He missed five months during the 2017-18 season following surgery during his time with Swansea City.

Although he now faces a more radical operation on his knee, he does not have any regrets.

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

"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."