Former Town youngster and Wycombe Wanderers legend Matt Bloomfield has announced his retirement from playing due on medical advice a week ahead of his 38th birthday.
Felixstowe-born Bloomfield came through the academy ranks at Playford Road and won an England U19 cap while with the Blues, featuring alongside striker Darren Bent as the Young Lions beat Germany 3-1 at Portman Road.
The midfielder made one sub appearance for the Town first team at Notts County in the Carling Cup in September 2003 before moving on to the Chairboys three months later.
And he has remained at Adams Park ever since, playing 558 games and captaining the club for nearly a decade and this season has been a player-coach.
Bloomfield suffered a serious concussion in his final Wycombe game at Exeter in the Carabao Cup last August, which he spoke to The Guardian about in detail, and as a result has retired on medical grounds.
"I have sought the opinion of medical experts who have advised me that I can no longer play the game that I love,” he told the Buckinghamshire club’s official website.
"I was desperate to keep playing, and I’m still not sure I have come to terms with it. However, I know that I have so much to be thankful for.
"I lived out a boyhood dream to represent Ipswich Town in my first professional appearance. I then lived out my other boyhood dream to captain a team to victory at Wembley Stadium. I couldn’t have dreamt that the team I captained there would be the team that has become my club.
"I have shared some really special memories at Adams Park with our fans and I would like you all to know that your support over the world has meant the world to me.
"You have made my playing career such a special experience and I thank you all for that. I know that I can retire content knowing that I definitely gave it everything I had.”
Wycombe manager Gareth Ainsworth paid tribute: "It’s a sad day, but also a proud one, to celebrate the playing career of one of the best, if not the best, professionals I have had the pleasure of working with throughout my time in football.
"Matt was my room-mate in my playing days, my captain in my management career and now I’m honoured to have him by my side on the coaching staff for the next chapter.
"We could not have achieved everything that we have done without him and above that I wouldn’t have wanted to have gone on this journey without him.
"He has been such an inspiration to everyone at Wycombe Wanderers, on and off the pitch, and he has shown tremendous courage to take this step for him and his family.
"Wycombe Wanderers have been truly blessed with an extraordinary individual that has gone far far beyond what he signed up to do.
"Matt Bloomfield is a Wycombe Wanderers legend, a guy you can rely on with anything, a guy who will be there for you through everything and someone who has the respect of every other footballer in the game.
"To have seen him develop into the man he has become goes deeper than just football and above all this he is, and always will be, one of my closest friends.
"Blooms, you have had an incredible playing career and it was a privilege to share a pitch, then an office and now a technical area with you. If life is a book, you’re not even halfway through yet, but it’s been a hell of a read so far!”
Wycombe are set to pay tribute to Bloomfield with a celebration of his playing career when the Buckinghamshire club host Plymouth on Good Friday.
Bloomfield, who says he plans to support Professional Footballers Association (PFA) initiatives which aim to increase the guidance and support available to players in relation to head injuries and their long-term impact, has spent time coaching with Town’s academy in recent years and has also summarised a number of Blues matches on BBC Radio Suffolk.