Brighton footballer Enock Mwepu has been forced to end his professional career after being diagnosed with a hereditary heart condition.

Mwepu, originally from Zambia, is just 24 and joined Brighton for around £20m from Red Bull Salzburg last July.

The footballer became ill while on a flight to join his national side during the international break. He was then admitted into hospital for four days in Mali before returning to Brighton for further cardiac testing.

A statement from Brighton said" The tests concluded that his illness is due to a hereditary cardiac condition, which manifests later in life and was not previously evident on regular cardiac screening. Sadly this can be exacerbated by playing sport so Enock has been advised that the only option, for the sake of his own safety, is for him to stop playing football."

Mwepu also shared a message on Twitter:

"A boy from a small Zambian township called Chambishi has news to share. He stood strong to follow his dreams of playing football at the highest level, and by grace of God, he lived his dream by reaching the Premier League."

"Some dreams, however, have an end, so it is with sadness that I announce the need to hang up my boots because of the medical advice I received. This is not the end of my involvement in football, I intend to stay involved to some degree."

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who supported me in my football trip including my wife and family, my agent 12MAN, the Zambian FA, all my past team-mates and coaches, specially everyone at Brighton & Hove Albion."

The club chairman, Tony Bloom, said: "We are all absolutely devastated for Enock. He and his family have had a traumatic few weeks and while we are thankful he has come through that period, he has seen such a promising career cut short at such a young age. As a club we will give him all the love, help and support we possibly can to make a full recovery, and then as he decides on the next steps in his life."

The head coach, Roberto De Zerbi, said: "I am so sorry for Enock. Before I arrived he was a player I was so looking forward to working with. We will do everything we can to help him."