The former Everton defender Rikke Sevecke has announced her enforced retirement after the diagnosis of a heart condition. The 27-year-old Denmark international wrote on social media: “I’m not sure how to find the right words. But as of now I will no longer be running around doing what I’ve done my whole life, playing football. “The past months I’ve had some tests done and I recently got the results back which says that I have a heart condition. This means I’m not allowed to continue playing professional football and I’ve therefore been forced to stop playing immediately.” Sevecke swapped Everton, for whom she made 52 appearances across three seasons in the WSL, for the NWSL side Portland Thorns in September 2023 but did not feature in the club’s four remaining games of the season. On 20 November the Thorns announced that Sevecke, who also played for Brøndby in Denmark and Fleury in France, would not be back for the 2024 season. “Not being able to make this decision when I felt the right time had come makes it even worse,” Sevecke said. “There were so many more adventures I was looking forward to. None more than being a Thorns player and being able to play with such a talented group. This is something I had been looking forward to for a while.” Sevecke scored five times for Denmark in 44 caps, having also featured at under-19 and under-17 levels. “Being part of the national team and representing my country for many more years is also something I won’t be able to do any more and it makes me sad,” she said. “[Being able to put on] the red and white shirt on and walk on to the pitch, singing the national anthem, is one of my proudest moments and I will always look back on [it] with a smile. I’m also thankful for all the people I’ve met on my path, some have become friends for life.” She added: “I’m surrounded by the best people and I will get through this – life is unpredictable and you don’t know when your whole world is going to turn upside down – I will take some time to just be me and process all of this.”