TEN years is the average career of a professional footballer.

There are always exceptions and two such characters are goalkeepers David Seaman and Dave Beasant both have "matured like vintage wine" , but who are still reluctant to discard their sponsored gloves, pack their hair gels away from a kindergarten dressing room and head off to pastures new.

There is another group, however, who find their careers snatched away, prematurely, in unforgiving circumstances.

Frank Casper was playing at the top of his profession for Burnley in the 1973-74 season.

International recognition was beckoning after a wonderful performance against Spurs in a 3-2 victory at White Hart Lane.

The Clarets played them again the following week and understandably Frank was singled out as the danger man. Cyril Knowles and Steve Perryman caught him with a nasty foul on the half way line.

After receiving treatment Frank carried on before collapsing in a heap in the corner.

"I returned for the quarter final game against Wrexham, scored the winner in a 1-0 victory but I still didn't feel 100 per cent fit," he said.

"As you know Dobbo, we then played Leeds in a League game which we won 4-1 before the semi final game against Newcastle United. Norman Hunter caught me and basically that was it.

"Luckily a position as youth team coach came up and manager Joe Brown offered me the job".

They say lightening doesn't strike twice but in the Casper household it did.

Son Chris, who was making a name for himself at Reading, after a big money move from Manchester United, became a victim himself of a crude challenge and at the age of 24 was dumped out of the game. Litigation is ongoing.

And Peter Morrison is not a name, I suspect, that you will be too familiar with. Not a Premiership big wig but a statistic nonetheless who has suffered from the cruel side of football.

Morrison was a 21-year-old professional at Bolton Wanderers when ex-Claret, Brian Laws, asked him to join the Scunthorpe United squad in the 2000-01 season.

A gifted, left-sided midfield player with touch, balance and pace.

He immediately impressed, playing 25 first team games and things were looking rosy.

An outing in a reserve game on Valentines Day, February14, 2001 was to send his world crashing.

No love lost on that day. Peter's leg was smashed by a reckless two footed tackle.

Morrison told me: "After the tackle I tried to stand up and then I saw the bones sticking out of my leg. It felt numb.

"The pain I experienced was explained to me by the physio. It was not 'red hot but white hot'. I'd gone through the pain barrier and part of me had switched off.

"I remember a couple of the lads being sick, fortunately not on me, and the physio making sure I didn't lose consciousness. It seemed like an age before the ambulance arrived and I was whisked off to the local hospital.

"Brain Laws came with me. I was told it was essential to be operated on immediately, otherwise infection could have set in and I might have had my leg amputated."

Such was the seriousness of the incident the game was abandoned.

A second operation followed within days.

"I had pins and screws inserted and then allowed a holiday in Spain," he said.

"When I returned people were amazed to find me walking. I didn't have a cast on and the medics said I'd gone from zero to 80 per cent improvement within weeks but when they removed the screws, I suffered excruciating pain.

"The only exercise possible was swimming."

After a couple of team-mates had broken their legs and had got back playing, it suddenly dawned on him that his career was over.

The warmth of letters and good luck messages have kept his spirits high and correspondence from such luminaries in the game as Fulham boss, Chris Coleman, and ex Coventry defender David Buust, who both suffered similar disasters, have kept his spirits high.

"Stuart Pearce also contacted me and being a big City fan it really gave me a lift," added Morrison.

"I haven't got over the experience yet and probably never will. I even have a few flash backs which wake me up in the night and I've been advised to take some counselling".

Stricken down at such a young age must have been devastating for the lad. His agent assured him that he would look after him if the worse came to the worse. And he was true to his word.

He took up the offer and is now 18 months into a new agency career looking after the welfare of other promising players.

"It's certainly given me a different perspective on the game," he said.

"When I go and see matches now I get annoyed when I see players not taking the game seriously or not putting in the effort they should.

"I am continually reminding young players the need for total commitment".

The mental scars as well as the physical problems affect players differently.

An unlucky throw of the dice or just fate? Could the injuries have been avoided? Wrong place, wrong time?

Maybe, but for these players there will always be the unanswered question "If only - what might have happened?"