Leinster's McKinley forced to retire

Rugby: Leinster outhalf Ian McKinley has been forced to retire after an injury resulted in the 21-year-old losing the sight in his left eye.

The former St. Columba’s playmaker made six senior appearances for Leinster, four of them after an eye injury sustained in a club game for UCD ruled him out for six months. However, complications developed as a result of that injury and the Dubliner has made the tough decision to move on from competitive rugby.

“After the accident happened I was advised that a cataract would develop, but the surgeon was surprised that it did not happen until 18 months after the initial incident," said McKinley today. “I was determined to overcome the temporary loss of sight and get back playing rugby so I was thrilled to return to training in July 2010, six months after the accident. It was such a great source of relief to get the chance to pull on the Leinster jersey again.

“In May, though, I played a game for the Leinster Development side and I had to stop after 15 minutes because of blurred vision. I then sustained a detached retina a week before pre-season and three operations over this summer couldn’t save my sight in that eye.

“I officially advised Joe (Schmidt) about my decision (to retire) last week after consulting with Mr Billy Power in the Eye & Ear Hospital.

While I am very upset by this turn of events, now it’s about planning the next stage in my life. I have been in and out of Riverview a fair bit and I have a lot of interests outside of the game.

“At this point I like the idea of maybe pursuing a career in coaching. I’m also exploring the possibility of going back to college and I’m currently in training with Jason Cowman (Leinster Strength & Conditioning Coach) for a triathlon in Portmarnock on September 24th.

“I’m trying to stay positive because there are bigger issues in life that people face everyday and everyone has been so incredibly supportive."

He added: “I will always remember when I captained Ireland against Samoa in the Under-20 World Cup in Japan in 2009 as a particular point of pride in my career.

“I would like to thank my family, my girlfriend Cordelia, Mr Power and all of his colleagues in the Eye & Ear Hospital who oversaw the operations from the start in consultation with Leinster’s Professor Arthur Tanner and all of the medical staff at Leinster.

“I thoroughly enjoyed my playing career and I’m deeply appreciative of my team-mates, the coaching and support staff and all of the supporters who provided me with so many wonderful memories.”

Leinster coach Schmidt said McKinley's retirement was "especially difficult" because he had such a "bright a future in the game".

He added: “The courage and determination that Ian displayed in firstly coming back from the loss of sight and then to force his way back into the team is indicative of both his strength of character and his playing ability. His dedication to recover from the initial accident was an inspiration to his team-mates and he was, and remains, a popular member of the squad.

“I know that Ian will be successful in whatever he decides to do over the next few years and I would like to thank him for his significant contribution to the success of the province over the course of his career.”