Man United legend Ashley Young faces imminent hip replacement

Former Manchester United and England winger Ashley Young, now 41, revealed on 9 August 2026 that he will require a hip replacement after three months of debilitating pain forced him out of training, prompting his retirement at the end of last season.

By MICHAEL PAVITT, SPORTS REPORTER. Published: 22:29 BST, 9 August 2026 | Updated: 22:31 BST, 9 August 2026.

Promotion triumph with Ipswich

Young announced his retirement after helping Ipswich secure promotion back to the Premier League, describing the achievement as a fitting end to his 23‑year career. He turned 41 in July and said the promotion was the perfect finale.

His career spanned 23 years and featured notable spells at Manchester United and Aston Villa, as well as periods with Watford, Inter Milan and Everton, accumulating 765 club appearances.

Internationally, Young earned 39 caps for England, featuring at Euro 2012 and the 2018 World Cup, but was limited to just 15 appearances in his final season.

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He first felt the problem in November when a training mishap required an injection. “I went down on my hip in November and had an injection. I have always said to myself ‘If my body is saying you need injections, there is a problem, you need to think about retiring’”, Young said.

A specialist later told him his hip was bone‑on‑bone and that a replacement would be needed within about two years.

Young described the condition as the result of ‘overuse’ after a career that left little cartilage in the joint, leaving him unable to train for around three months because of the pain.

Despite medical advice, he trained daily for the last two months of the season, travelled with the squad each week and made himself available for the final three games, feeling the promotion on the last day was a deserved conclusion.

Young is not the first former Premier League star to face a hip replacement; former Tottenham player Erik Lamela revealed in April that he had undergone the procedure, hoping for a pain‑free life.