The 29-year-old back row forward joined Worcester Warriors last summer from the Blues, where he had been club captain, and he sustained multiple, inexplicable calf tears during pre-season training. During September and October of last year these tears started to appear in other body parts and, as a result, the club sent Pretorius to see a nerve conduction specialist and a neurologist.
At that stage Pretorius was diagnosed with Neuromyotonia, or Isaacs’ Syndrome, a disorder which causes muscles to continuously cramp, thus preventing them from recovering after exercise. The Warriors supported Pretorius by dedicating extensive resources and staff to better understand his condition, as well as giving the player extra time to overcome the disorder.
However, the rarity of the disorder means that current treatments are not guaranteed to eliminate the symptoms and, after multiple bouts of different treatments were found to be ineffective, the player who was capped twice by Wales on the tour to Japan in 2013 was left with no option other than to retire to ensure he can continue to live as normal a life as possible.
“It’s with great sadness that I have to announce my retirement from rugby. Unfortunately, due to the disorder I can’t perform to the standard I know is required to push myself and my teammates without hurting myself,” said Pretorius.
“I must thank Worcester Warriors, and their Medical Department in particular, for the endless amount of support they have provided over the last five months. No one had dealt with something like this before, but they kept me positive and really did everything they could – I will always be very grateful for their support.”
