Photo by Troy Taormina/USA TODAY Sports

By DAN KARELL

Eric Brunner listened to his body. It was time to stop.

Last Wednesday, the 28-year-old American centerback announced his retirement from professional soccer after seven seasons as a pro, six of them in MLS. Brunner just completed his second season with the Houston Dynamo, but successive serious ankle surgeries had taken their toll and were limiting Brunner’s productivity, giving him a clear indication of what his future would hold.

Instead of continuing to play at less than 100 percent for the rest of his career, Brunner made the decision to hang up the boots.

“I had two ankle surgeries in the past 2 years,” Brunner told SBI in a phone interview. “I had micro-fracture (surgery) done on my right ankle twice, and it just doesn’t feel how I feel like it should feel. Obviously surgery isn’t going to make it 100 percent but I wasn’t able to do things (that) I was able to do before surgery.”

After spending two off seasons rehabbing from right ankle surgeries, Brunner re-aggravated the injury on March 1 in a challenge against the Charleston Battery in the Dynamo’s final preseason match. Brunner tried to rehab the injury again for about a month but eventually settled on a scope of the ankle to clean the area and let it heal better.

While the results were initially positive, Brunner never re-gained his pre-injury mobility, and saw himself fall out of both the starting lineup and game-day squad.

“It was tough. I tried to mentally grind through it and push through it and not worry about it, but at the end of the day, you notice it,” Brunner said. “It’s definitely frustrating and I don’t wish it upon anyone. It’s just the nature of the beast of being a professional athlete. Injuries happen and you try to push through them as you can.”

Brunner may not have been able to impact the league much last year, but he did have a big impact early in his career on a rule that’s no longer in the books. Following a standout career with the Ohio State Buckeyes, the Dublin, Ohio native was drafted 16th overall by the New York Red Bulls in the 2008 MLS Draft.

The Red Bulls signed Brunner to a senior contract but after agreeing to terms with New Zealand international centerback Andrew Boyens, the club were over the senior contract limit and asked Brunner if he’d agree to a developmental contract, which in 2008 paid only $1,075 per month, according to the MLS and MLS Players Union collective bargaining agreement.

Brunner refused to take the lower contract and found himself suddenly without a club until June, when he signed with Miami FC in the old USL First Division.

“The reason I did it was because financially I couldn’t support myself on a developmental contract, that’s why they’re out of the league now,” said Brunner. The developmental contract was scrapped following the 2010 MLS season.

By then, Brunner had found his way into MLS, first playing for two seasons with his hometown Columbus Crew, winning a Supporters Shield in his first full year in the league. Brunner then was part of the Portland Timbers’ jump to MLS in 2011, playing 45 times in front of the Timbers Army.

In 2013, Brunner joined the Dynamo and though he struggled to make his way into the lineup, was a key starter down the stretch and into the MLS Cup Playoffs as the Dynamo made a run to the Eastern Conference finals.

“I wouldn’t have changed anything (about my career) because what I learned and grew from as a player, especially in my first year, I learned a lot really quick that a lot of rookies don’t really quite grasp,” Brunner commented. “There were a lot of gut-check decisions I had to make and I don’t regret any of them. My path may not have been the easiest but it’s one I’ve learned the most from, which I’m grateful for.”

Although Brunner’s career ended sooner than he would have expected, he had plenty of positive memories to take with him as he moves forward. He was also surprised to hear all the kind words from fans across the country.

“I think I’ve looked back on (my career) more in the past couple of days It kind of blew up more than I was hoping for, I didn’t want it to be a big press release and all that stuff, that happens,” Brunner said. “But it’s nice to see the well wishes and nice to know that I made a lot of good relationships and friendships around the league with coaches and fans, so it’s cool to see.”

Brunner has already begun to start looking at what to do next in his career. He’s stated that he wants to stay in soccer and also wants to finish his degree at Ohio State, so he could potentially be a volunteer assistant with the men’s soccer team if he wants to try coaching out for a try.

“I’m open to anything,” Brunner said. “One thing I’d like to do is finish school. I’ve got a couple of things lined up but nothing set in stone yet. It would be great to stay involved. I’ll definitely watch (the Dynamo) and talk to guys still. If coaching happens, that would be really fun.”