West Ham United goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański announced his international retirement on August 8th, just a month after participating at Euro 2020 with Poland.
The 36-year-old’s last appearance for his country came in a friendly tie against Russia in June, with him then being a backup for Wojciech Szczesny in the European competition.
His compatriot, Łukasz Piszczek, retired from Poland in 2019, in order to focus on his time at Borussia Dortmund. He left the German club for Goczałkowice-Zdrój back in May.
Przegląd Sportowy have published a detailed interview with the Hammers custodian, the majority of which revolved around his decision to retire from the national team.
The newspaper uses Piszczek’s retirement as an example to ask the former Arsenal man whether it would have been difficult, mentally and physically, to play at the highest level for both club and country.
“Mentally, I would definitely be able to handle it all, but physically it could be quite a burden for me. The last period: the end of the previous season, the injury I suffered during also made me understand that there are a lot of these burdens,” Fabiański said.
“And I knew there would be more because West Ham will be playing in the Europa League this season. I do not know if my body would have been able to cope with all of this if I had not resigned from the national team.
“Especially since the last time I suffered a more serious injury some two years ago, even in the club they decided that when it comes to physical preparation it is better to look at me individually.
“They are careful not to exploit me too much. So I think that this decision may also extend my club career. When I analysed all this, it turned out from this equation that saying goodbye to the national team after the Euros would be the most sensible solution.”
Fabiański has started the first three league matches of this season at West Ham.
