Due to an accumulation of back injuries, the 47-year-old finds himself needing hospital treatment more than a decade after hanging up his boots.
Ferdinand told Men’s Health UK: “I’ve had a bad back for a long time. I’ve got injuries that I had from my career…I was on tablets and injections for six years to play games.
"That’s affected me. I get some bad moments of back pain where I have to be in a hospital for a couple of days or in a wheelchair for a couple of days. It’s mad, but it just comes out of nowhere.”
"I’ve been seeing a physio for the first time since I retired. He’s been doing loads of manipulations and whatnot, and within his building there’s also my personal trainer, so he feeds him information about my training.
"There’s a holistic approach to what I’m doing now and hopefully that’s going to put me in good stead. Rather than fixing when it’s broken, you actually prevent (injuries). I know my sh*t now. But I’m 47 years old. It took me all that time.”
Ferdinand only ever suffered 11 reported injuries during his career and his longest time out was in the 2009/10 campaign, when he missed two months and 15 matches with "back problems".
With 14 major honours under his belt, including six Premier League title, the Premier League icon is feeling the effects of a successful but straining career.