Serious hip injury forces Dalkeith stalwart Richardson to hang up his football boots

The 33-year-old is being forced to hang up his boots after being diagnosed with osteoarthritis in his left hip.

“I’ve been told that I can’t continue to do impact sports so my football career is over,” said Richardson, who was at Arniston for most of his career and also had spells at Edinburgh United and Whitehill Welfare.

“I’ve felt a stiffness in my hip for about 12 months now but I thought it was just a case of age catching up on me. However, it seems the hip has disintegrated over time and I’m also going to have to change how I do things in my everyday life unless I’ll be needing a hip replacement.

“I had a few good years at Arniston, where I picked up my first trophy. I also enjoyed my time at Edinburgh United while it has been great playing for Dalkeith. The club has gone through some hard times but things are going well.”

Dalkeith boss Willie Pearson paid tribute to Richardson, saying: “Barry has been a tremendous servant and we will hopefully be able to do something for him at the end of the season.”

Thistle entertain Blackburn tomorrow, when other scheduled matches include Tranent v Falkirk, Harthill v Spartans and Edinburgh United v Haddington.