Perry Kitchen retires from soccer after nerve damage in leg

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Midfielder Perry Kitchen is retiring at age 30 after nine years in Major League Soccer and a season as captain of Scotland’s Heart of Midlothian. Kitchen last played on July 24 last year, entering for the last 15 minutes of the Columbus Crew’s match at Atlanta. He had surgery that August to repair a herniated disk in his back and said he could not overcome nerve damage down his right leg. Captain of the U.S. team at the 2009 Under-17 World Cup, Kitchen also helped Akron win the 2010 NCAA soccer championship.