Former Shrewsbury winger Alex Rodman reveals battle with Vertigo following retirement

Rodman, who played 75 times for Salop during a two year spell at the club and scored in the 2018 play-off final defeat to Rotherham, announced his retirement last month.

The 36-year-old, who has spent the last four seasons at Bristol Rovers, penned an emotional letter confirming his retirement in May - and has now opened up on his struggles with a back injury and a broken leg, as well as his battle with Vestibular Neuritis, known more commonly as Vertigo.

In an interview with Bristol Live, the ex-Salop winger, who scored ten goals across two seasons during his successful spell at the Montgomery Waters Meadow, revealed how he first suffered with the disorder, which attacks the inner ear and leads to balance issues, back in 2020.

Over recent years, he has been unable to watch TV, read a book, and at times even use a mobile phone.

He suffered a relapse at the start of the 2022/23 campaign - and that is when he knew his time as a professional footballer was up.

He said: "After the brain scans and as soon as the doctors spoke to me, I knew that door was closed.

“It probably took me a week to get my head around it and go, ‘that’s it’, because I’m never going to go against medical advice. But I’m also someone who can be quite matter of fact and once it was taken out of my hands, it made the decision easier.

“There’s just no way I could have played on, let alone trained every day. It would have been a lottery.

"I got over it in late November, had a good December and Christmas but then had a relapse in January and it’s been on and off since then. If I was going to come in and train, every day I’d be saying to the physio, ‘I can’t do it today’. It just would have been impossible.

“But, to be totally honest with you, I’ve been alright with it. I thought I’d be worse. I thought I’d miss it more and long for it more than I have."

As his battle with vertigo continues, he explained how he is on daily medication and watches what he eats and drinks to lessen the symptoms.

It isn't the first time the ex-Salop wide man has suffered with a serious health problem.

Back in 2011, he was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism after complaining of chest pains, Doctors found three blood clots in his lungs and he was put on blood thinning medication.

He recovered and returned to football, going on to play for Grimsby Town, Gateshead, Newport County, Notts County and Salop, before signing for Bristol Rovers in 2018.

Following his retirement, he has begun working as a full-time financial advisor, and with a passion for golf, has recently signed up to play on the Clutch Pro Tour, the development golf tour for the European Challenge Tour.