DAILY STAR
Michael Owen‘s son had to give up his dream of following in his dad’s footballing footsteps after a heartbreaking diagnosis.
James Owen was one of the best players in his age group as a youngster. But a diagnosis of Stargardt Disease, which affects detailed vision, made a career in football impossible for him.
Now 17, James has found a new perspective on the game after spending time with the England partially-sighted men’s football team alongside his former Liverpool and Real Madrid striker dad. He told The Mirror: “I got diagnosed when I was quite young so I can’t really remember it all because I was pretty much straight onto football. When I got diagnosed that was hard, but I didn’t stop straight away.
“I kept playing, but Stargardt’s is a deterioration so after a while it just got to the point where I knew I couldn’t make a career out of it and I was starting to, I wouldn’t say get worse, but everyone (else) was getting better. I kind of lost enjoyment out of it from that point of view. I used to play quite often but I don’t play any more.
