Ledley King is close to announcing his retirement after 13 years in the Tottenham Hotspur team. The club's captain, who has a chronic knee complaint, will give serious thought to his next move while on holiday. But he is believed to have resigned himself to what his doctor told him ought to have happened four years ago.

King finished the season in a lot of pain and he has been forced to consider the damage to his body that playing on may bring in later life. More pressingly, the 31-year-old is worried that he may be unable to do himself justice next season. The last thing that he wants is to be remembered as a passenger, rather than one of the finest central defenders of his generation.

King's doctor describes him as "superhuman" and a player that has "defied science". He has no cartilage in his left knee and there is no logic to how he has played for many years. In the second part of this past season, though, King's performance levels dropped alarmingly. He hurt himself in training over Christmas and, with the benefit of hindsight, he ought to have undergone his latest clean-up operation immediately; instead, he continued to give his all and waited until the end of the season to see the surgeon.

King will take the final decision but even those close to him are urging him to hang up his boots. He appreciates the support of the Tottenham chairman, Daniel Levy, who has assured him that he will be looked after. There is the possibility of a coaching or ambassadorial role at the club, where he started as a trainee.

"I had a really good start to last season and was pleased to play as many games as I did," King said. "A knock in training set me back towards the end but I opted to carry on playing rather than take the time out to have the knee seen to. Unfortunately, that meant that I didn't play the last few games at the standard I would have liked.

"I've been discussing things with the club and my contract expires this summer. The club has been fantastic in supporting me and given me several options to stay involved with Tottenham. I shall take a view with them pre-season on my future. Tottenham has been the only club for me and if I can't play here then I shall look to be involved in another capacity."