Former Blues skipper Jon Walters has announced his retirement from football due to the achilles injury which curtailed his loan spell back at Portman Road earlier in the season.
The Republic of Ireland international, 35, was initially at Town between January 2007 and August 2010, having caught manager Jim Magilton’s eye while playing against the Blues for Chester in the FA Cup.
Walters, who cost Town £100,000 plus top-ups, made 132 starts and 14 sub appearances, scoring 31 goals before moving on to Stoke for £2.75 million after falling out with then-boss Roy Keane.
The Birkenhead-born frontman, who won 54 caps and scored 14 international goals, returned to Town in August on a six-month loan from Burnley, who he joined in 2017, but made only two starts and one sub appearance before being ruled out for the rest of his spell after suffering an achilles injury when coming off the bench in September's 0-0 draw with Bolton.
Isn’t it ironic...my Achilles heel has literally been my Achilles heel and finished me off!
I am now retired from playing football
It’s been epic
Veni vidi vici pic.twitter.com/ZC3m0LmYn5– Jonathan Walters (@JonWalters19) March 22, 2019
Prior to his time with Chester, Walters had been with the Trotters, Blackburn, Hull City (two spells, one loan, one permanent), Crewe (loan), Barnsley (loan), Scunthorpe (loan) and Wrexham.