Years playing football for England has left Rio Ferdinand requiring a wheelchair.

The impact of the Manchester United defender’s long and successful career resulted in significant injuries, and he still finds himself having to stay hospital over a decade after he retired.

Now 47, Ferdinand told Men’s Health UK: “I’ve had a bad back for a long time. I’ve got injuries that I had from my career…I was on tablets and injections for six years to play games. That’s affected me. I get some bad moments of back pain where I have to be in a hospital for a couple of days or in a wheelchair for a couple of days. It’s mad, but it just comes out of nowhere.”

Ferdinand and his family now live in Dubai which he calls a new "adventure” and he’s learnt new techniques to preserve his body better.

Working out in his new Dubai home, Rio Ferdinand(Image: David Venni / Men’s Health UK)

"I’ve been seeing a physio for the first time since I retired,” he revealed. "He’s been doing loads of...