As Wayne Rooney faces increasing questions over his future in the game, the issue of footballer burn out has come to the fore.
From Michael Owen to Joe Cole and Fernando Torres, countless wonder kids have fizzled out after scaling wondrous heights in their teenage years.
Sportsmail look at some of the most infamous, and some less so, to burn-out before reaching what should have been the peak years of their career...
Wayne Rooney made his professional debut for Everton as a 16-year-old back in 2002
Michael Owen burst onto the scene as a teenager at Liverpool and scored on his debut at 17
MICHAEL OWEN CV
Liverpool 1997-2004
297 appearances, 158 goals
Real Madrid 2004-05
45 appearances, 16 goals
Newcastle 2005-09
79 appearances, 30 goals
Manchester United 2009-12
52 appearances, 17 goals
Stoke 2012-13
9 appearances, 1 goal
England 1998-2008 (89 caps, 40 goals)
Michael Owen
The original wonderkid. Michael Owen burst onto the world scene as an 18-year-old at France '98 when his solo goal against Argentina set pulses racing and imaginations running wild.
A regular in the Liverpool first-team by the age of 17, he reached the landmark of 100 goals for the Reds shortly after his 21st birthday.
He had the world at his feet, and was duly awarded with the European Player of the Year in 2001 - the first Englishman to win the accolade since Kevin Keegan in 1979.
But injuries had already begun to take their toll even when he reached his peak years between the ages of 21 and 25, with a pulled hamstring suffered against Leeds in April 1999 robbing him of much of the electric pace that had been his trademark.
Muscle injuries persisted throughout his early years, but it was a knee ligament injury suffered at the 2006 World Cup that the striker could never fully recover from.
He scored 158 of his 222 career goals at Liverpool - he was only 24 when he departed Anfield, and played on for another nine years.
Injuries eventually did for the former England international, despite a brief renaissance at Manchester United in 2009 as he played out his final season with little fanfare at Stoke.
Fernando Torres captained Atletico Madrid as a teenager before moving to Liverpool in 2007
FERNANDO TORRES CV
Atletico Madrid 2000-07
244 appearances, 91 goals
Liverpool 2007-11
142 appearances, 81 goals
Chelsea 2011-14
172 appearances, 45 goals
AC Milan (loan) 2014-15
10 appearances, 1 goal
Atletico Madrid 2015-Present
70 appearances, 18 goals
Spain 2003-14 (110 caps, 38 goals)
Fernando Torres
A debutant in the Atletico Madrid first-team at the age of 17, Fernando Torres had made 244 appearances and been captain of his boyhood club for four years by the time he left at the age of 23.
A return of 91 goals showcased his talent, but it was only after joining Liverpool that his promise was fulfilled.
He captured the hearts of the Kop in three-and-a-half seasons, scoring 81 goals in only 142 appearances.
But by the time he traded Anfield for Stamford Bridge in January he was a shadow of the explosive and prolific striker that had ripped apart the Premier League in his pomp.
At 27 he should have been arriving at his peak, but with injuries piling up and miles on the clock he could not trust his body the same way.
Now at Atletico Madrid he has recovered the eye-for-goal that deserted him at Chelsea, but will never reach those devastating heights that once made him the most feared striker in Europe.
Joe Cole made his Premier League debut for West Ham at the age of 17 at Old Trafford
JOE COLE CV
West Ham 1998-2003
150 appearances, 13 goals
Chelsea 2003-10
281 appearances, 40 goals
Liverpool 2010-13
42 appearances, 5 goals
Lille (loan) 2011-12
43 appearances, 5 goals
West Ham 2013-14
37 appearances, 5 goals
Aston Villa 2014-15
16 appearances, 1 goal
Coventry City 2015-16
15 appearances, 1 goal
England 2001-10 (56 caps, 10 goals)
Joe Cole
A barnstorming Premier League debut at Old Trafford at the age of 17 showed off Joe Cole's full repertoire of tricks and flicks.
It was clear the precocious teenager was destined for full England honours, and in five seasons at West Ham he made 150 appearances before a money-spinning move to Chelsea in 2003.
Major honours routinely followed at Stamford Bridge, but from the age of 18 he was playing 30 plus games per season.
A serious knee injury in 2008 hampered his final two seasons with the Blues, and a free transfer to Liverpool in 2010 was expected to be the catalyst for a late-career resurgence - he was still only 28.
But his body could not keep up with the demands of an ever-faster Premier League, and his spell at Anfield was a disaster.
Now 34 he plays for Tampa Bay Rowdies in the North American Soccer League having played only 110 games in the last six years.
Robbie Fowler scored 116 goals in 188 games for Liverpool by the time he was 22 years old
ROBBIE FOWLER CV
Liverpool 1993-2001
330 appearances, 171 goals
Leeds 2001-03
33 appearances , 14 goals
Manchester City 2003-06
91 appearances, 27 goals
Liverpool 2006-07
39 appearances, 12 goals
Cardiff 2007-08
16 appearances, 6 goals
Blackburn 2008-09
6 appearances, 0 goals
North Queensland Fury 2009-10
26 appearances, 9 goals
Perth Glory 2010-11
28 appearances, 9 goals
Muangthong United 2011
20 appearances, 4 goals
England 1996-2002 (26 caps, 7 goals)
Robbie Fowler
Known by Liverpool fans as 'God', Robbie Fowler made quite the impact when he made his debut as an 18-year-old in 1993.
After scoring on his debut in a League Cup tie against Fulham, he scored five in the second leg barely a fortnight later.
By the time he was 22 he had scored 116 goals in 188 games for the club, before a knee ligament injury forced him to miss the 1998 World Cup.
He never quite rediscovered his previous form; though his eye-for-goal remained, he was slower and less explosive.
A tally of 230 goals in 515 appearances in English football glosses over an early career that threatened to re-write the record books.
He rejoined Liverpool in January 2006 but struggled to force himself into the side on a regular basis, playing his final game in front of the Kop in May 2007.
He left England amid little fanfare after unsuccessful spells with Cardiff and Blackburn.
He spent two seasons in Australia, where he averaged around a goal every three games before venturing to Thailand outfit Muangthong United.
Alan Smith was part of David O'Leary's Leeds that reached a Champions League semi-final
ALAN SMITH CV
Leeds 1998-2004
228 appearances, 56 goals
Manchester United 2004-07
93 appearances, 12 goals
Newcastle 2007-11
94 appearances, 0 goals
MK Dons 2011-14
71 appearances, 3 goals
Notts County 2014-Present
62 appearances, 0 goals
England 2001-07 (19 caps, 1 goal)
Alan Smith
The sky was the limit for 18-year-old Alan Smith when he scored on his Leeds debut in a 3-1 win over Liverpool at Anfield in November 1998.
It was the beginning of a meteoric rise for the future England international, who became the undisputed first-choice striker under David O'Leary.
The dizzying highs and plummeting lows he experienced in six years at Elland Road set him up well for a career that was ravaged by injury.
He joined arch-rivals Manchester United at 24, with 228 appearances under his belt, but was soon re-moulded into a holding midfielder by Sir Alex Ferguson after losing much of the tenacity that had marked him out as a teenager.
A horrific leg break curtailed his spell at Old Trafford before he left for Newcastle in 2007, where his career never sparked back into life.
Harry Kewell made his Leeds debut at 17 and won the PFA Young Player of the Year in 2000
HARRY KEWELL CV
Leeds 1996-2003
242 appearances, 63 goals
Liverpool 2003-08
138 appearances, 16 goals
Galatasaray 2008-11
91 appearances, 34 goals
Melbourne Victory 2011-12
25 appearances, 8 goals
Al-Gharafa 2012-13
3 appearances, 1 goal
Melbourne Heart 2013-14
16 appearances, 2 goals
Australia 1996-2012 (56 caps, 17 goals)
Harry Kewell
Harry Kewell was handed his first-team debut at Leeds as a 17-year-old in 1996, and soon became a regular in his later teenage years.
A fine season in 1999-2000 saw the Australian rewarded with the PFA Young Player of the Year gong as he became the creative fulcrum of a side that reached semi-finals of the Champions League a year later.
But as Leeds fell into financial ruin, so Kewell departed under a cloud having made 242 appearances before turning 25.
At Liverpool his youthful promise unravelled as injuries dominated his time in the red shirt.
In five seasons he played only 138 times as a succession of muscle strains and tears saw him leave on a free transfer at the age of 29.
He ended his career back in his homeland via a spell in Turkey with Galatasaray.
Kieron Dyer was a key member of Sir Bobby Robson's Newcastle at the turn of the century
KIERON DYER CV
Ipswich 1996-99
112 appearances, 12 goals
Newcastle 1999-2007
250 appearances, 36 goals
West Ham 2007-10
34 appearances, 0 goals
QPR 2011-13
8 appearances, 1 goal
Middlesbrough 2012-13
9 appearances, 2 goals
England 1999-2007 (33 caps, 0 goals)
Kieron Dyer
After breaking into the first-team at Ipswich Town as a 17-year-old, Kieron Dyer quickly established a reputation as one of the most highly rated teenagers outside of the Premier League.
After 116 appearances and still only 20 he moved north to Newcastle United in 1999, where he built on his reach early promise and earned international recognition.
Though he became a key member of Sir Bobby Robson's exciting Magpies, the winger was never quite able to make the next step.
Hampered by injury niggles he left in 2007, at the age of 28. Approaching what should have been his peak, his move to West Ham was a disaster.
In the final six years of his career he made only 51 further appearances, his early reputation never fully restored.
Jermaine Jenas was youngest captain in Nottingham Forest history before joining Newcastle
JERMAINE JENAS CV
Nottingham Forest 2000-02
33 appearances, 4 goals
Newcastle 2002-05
152 appearances, 12 goals
Tottenham 2005-13
202 appearances, 26 goals
Aston Villa (loan) 2011-12
3 appearances, 0 goals
Nottingham Forest (loan) 2012-13
6 appearances, 1 goal
QPR 2013-14
40 appearances, 4 goals
England 2003-09 (21 caps, 1 goal)
Jermaine Jenas
A regular fixture on the Match of the Day sofa, it is hard to believe that Jermaine Jenas is only 33.
It is testament to a swift rise in his early years, before a spectacular and relatively unnoticed decline through his mid-to-late twenties.
The youngest captain in Nottingham Forest history at the tender age of 18, he joined Sir Bobby's Robson Newcastle back in 2002 and instantly became a first-team regular leading to him being crowned the PFA Young Player of the Year in his first full season.
At 22 he joined Tottenham, having already clocked 185 professional games under his belt, but after four seasons of consistent minutes and performances his influence began to wane.
Painkillers saw him through matches as Spurs pushed for the Champions League spots under Harry Redknapp, but the midfielder was unable to recapture his previous form.
A move to Queens Park Rangers in January 2013 signalled the beginning of the end before a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament injury finally forced him to retire at the age of 32, almost two years since his last appearance.
Gabby Agbonlahor had a bright future ahead of him when he emerged at Aston Villa
GABBY AGBONLAHOR CV
Aston Villa 2005-Present
371 appearances, 84 goals
Watford (loan) 2005-06
2 appearances, 0 goals
Sheffield Wednesday (loan) 2005-06
8 appearances, 0 goals
England 2008-09 (3 caps, 0 goals)
Gabby Agbonlahor
Gabby Agbonlahor may still be a professional footballer, but only in name by this point after he was bombed out of a relegation-bound Aston Villa squad, stripped of the vice-captaincy and placed on an intensive two-week fitness regime.
It has been an unsavoury end to a career that had started with great promise, and even at the age of 29 he has inevitably played his last game for his boyhood club.
By the time Agbonlahor turned 24 he had already played 205 professional matches, 195 of them in the top-flight, and had a goal for England disallowed on his debut against Germany. He lasted only three games under Fabio Capello.
He was the attacking fulcrum of an exciting Villa side under Martin O'Neill that each year looked on the brink of Champions League qualification.
By the time Agbonlahor turned 24 he had already played 205 professional matches, 195 of them in the top-flight.
He was the attacking fulcrum of an exciting Villa side under Martin O'Neill that each year looked on the brink of Champions League qualification.
In the last six seasons he has managed only 34 goals, his rising promise well and truly diminished as his lightning pace and energy deserted him.
Robinho was set to follow in the footsteps of Ronaldo when he joined Real Madrid in 2005
ROBINHO CV
Santos 2001-05
176 appearances, 82 goals
Real Madrid 2005-08
135 appearances, 35 goals
Manchester City 2008-10
53 appearances, 16 goals
Santos (loan) 2010
22 appearances, 11 goals
AC Milan 2010-14
144 appearances, 32 goals
Santos (loan) 2014-15
41 appearances, 17 goals
Guangzhou Evergrande 2015
11 appearances, 3 goals
Atletico Mineiro 2016-Present
34 appearances, 19 goals
Brazil 2003-Present (99 caps, 28 goals)
Robinho
Following in the footsteps of Romario, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho, 10 years ago Robinho was the next great hope of Brazilian football.
At 21 he swapped boyhood club Santos for Real Madrid. Five seasons, 176 appearances and 82 goals spoke volumes of his potential.
But by the time he left, three years later, he was already a star on the wane.
His dramatic £32.5m deadline day move to Manchester City in September 2008 has gone down in folklore, but ultimately he was not the bonafide world star that Sheikh Mansour thought he was investing in.
Only 24 but with over 300 club appearances to his name, the wonderkid would never deliver on his promise.
There is still hope of a 100th cap for Brazil, though he has not appeared for his country since the quarter-final defeat by Paraguay at the 2015 Copa America.
He now turns out for Atletico Mineiro after an unspectacular stint at AC Milan. At 32 he looks unlikely to return to Europe any time soon.
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