Derby County central defender Alan Stubbs has been forced to retire from football after failing to recover from a knee injury.

The 36 year old had battled to full fitness for the start of the season before suffering the set back in the opening game.

The brave defender had twice fought testicular cancer during his time in the Scottish Premier League with Celtic, who he joined from Bolton in 1996 for £3.5million.

Stubbs joined Everton on a free transfer in 2001, where he played 142 games for the Toffees before moving to Sunderland in 2005. The player stayed at the Stadium of Light for one season before returning to Everton.

Everton released Stubbs in January 2008 when he completed his move to Derby County.

I will remember Stubbs as one half of a fantastic defensive partnership formed with David Weir at Everton and the massive part that the pair played during the season 2004/5 when despite losing Wayne Rooney to Manchester United and spending little of the transfer kitty, David Moyes guided the team to an unexpected  fourth place in the Premier league.