Enock Mwepu’s playing career has been forced to come to an end after a hereditary heart condition was discovered, according to Brighton.
OsunDaily News understands that during the international break, the 24-year-old Zambian fell ill on a flight to join up with his national team. He was then taken to a hospital in Mali and later flown back to Brighton for additional cardiac testing and ongoing care.
The tests “concluded that his illness is due to a hereditary cardiac condition, which manifests later in life and was not previously evident on routine cardiac screening,” according to a statement from Brighton. Enock has been told that the only solution, for the sake of his own safety, is for him to stop playing football because playing sports can, sadly, make this worse.
However, the 4 times Austrian Bundesliga Champion wrote on his Twitter page, “A boy from a small Zambian township called Chambishi has news to share.
“He stood strong to follow his dreams of playing football at the highest level, and by grace of God, he lived his dream by reaching the Premier League.
“Some dreams, however, have an end, so it is with sadness that I announce the need to hang up my boots because of the medical advice I received. This is but not the end of my involvement in football, I intend to stay involved to some degree. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who supported me in my football trip including my wife and family, my agent 12MAN, the Zambian FA, all my past team-mates and coaches, specially everyone at Brighton & Hove Albion,” the Zambian wrote.
Tony Bloom, the club chairman said: “We are all absolutely devastated for Enock. He and his family have had a traumatic few weeks and while we are just thankful he has come through that period, he has seen such a promising career cut short at such a young age. As a club we will give him all the love, help and support we possibly can to make a full recovery, and then as he decides on the next steps in his life.”
In what turned out to be his final game, Mwepu, known as “The Computer” in his native country for his ability to read the game, started Brighton’s 5-2 victory over Leicester last month.
This article was originally published on OsunDaily News
