Huddersfield Town captain Mark Hudson has announced his retirement from playing and joined the club's coaching staff ahead of the looming Premier League season.
Hudson enjoyed the third promotion of his career after helping Town reach the top flight of English football through the Championship playoffs last season, but has decided to call time on a playing career consisting of 500 professional appearances.
Over 100 of those matches came while representing the Terriers, who will now be battling to retain their Premier League status under David Wagner once the new season gets underway on Friday.
"I'm very happy that Mark is becoming part of my back-room staff," Town coach Wagner said following Hudson's announcement.
"From my first day in England, Mark has been one of the biggest positives. He is a huge influence in our dressing room - a total professional with a winning mentality - and that was why securing his future to Huddersfield Town was so important last April. As a player and a potential coach, it was vital that we keep Mark here.
"Make no mistake, Mark made a huge contribution to the success this club enjoyed in 2016-17, both through his performances on the field and his influence off it."
Huddersfield will open their 2017-18 league account when they face Crystal Palace this weekend.
Christopher Dodd
