Michael Owen: My teenage son is blind
EX- ENGLAND football star Michael Owen has spoken of the devastating eye disease that has wrecked his teenage son’s dreams of f oll owing i n his father’s footsteps.
The former striker’s 13-yearold son James has been diagnosed with Stargardt disease and is now clinically blind.
The rare genetic condition, which affects up to one in 10,000 people, means his retina will slowly degenerate.
Owen, who also played for Liverpool and Real Madrid, has previously refused to discuss the problem in public.
Speaking of it for the first time, the 39-year-old told The Times: ‘He will never be a footballer. My son’s got an eye condition. I’ve never said this. I don’t want a big headline. Clinically, he’s blind.’ Owen said that before the diagnosis, he used to watch James play. He added: ‘He can’t see the ball until it’s five yards away. As much as every father wants their son to play, it is almost a relief to me.
‘Everyone always asks, “Is he going to be a footballer?” and then I stand on the side of the pitch and hear, “He’s not as good as his dad.” ’
Owen, who also has t hree daughters with wife Louise, credits his sporting success to his father Terry, 70.
He said he was allowed steak on a Tuesday while the rest of the family had beans on toast – because it would ‘build him up’ for his future football career. The ex-England star also revealed in his new autobiography how he was ‘b*****ked’ by the Queen following an awkward encounter inside a crowded lift at Royal Ascot.
After being told to ‘squeeze in’, he took his hat off assuming it was the correct etiquette. But the Monarch sternly told him to put it back on – to make more room. ‘I sheepishly put my hat on,’ said Owen. ‘I was mortified. To this day I have absolutely no idea if she was joking.’