James McClean has revealed that he is undergoing ‘one of the most difficult periods of his life’ as a dispute with Derry City continues.The 37-year-old rejoined Derry in January this year, but the club have been trying to terminate his contract since the summer.McClean hasn’t played for Derry since JulyGettyIn a statement from PFA Ireland on behalf of McClean, they revealed that the winger has been suffering with an injury.He has been left out of the squad without any sufficient reason being given, and he was told in the summer that the club wanted to rip up his contract.They had informed him that they didn’t believe he had the physical capacity to perform anymore.And now, the PFA Ireland have released a statement.It read: “As has been widely reported, we are representing James McClean in a dispute with Derry City FC over the terms of his contract.“There has been a lot of conjecture and misinformation about the situation pertaining to James’ medical status and we would like to take this opportunity to clarify matters.“In short, James has had a hip injury which had been causing intermittent issues for him. This has caused him to miss some games and occasional training sessions. He has sought medical treatment for this and is currently fit and well.“He has trained fully for the last nine weeks and has made himself available for selection. He recently played in an internal match arranged by the club. He believes he can help the team and has not been provided with a satisfactory reason for being left out of the squad.“He believes that the reason for this is a dispute which first arose in early August when the chairman of the club stated that his contract had been terminated. As a result of this, he contacted this association and has been provided with legal advice from PFA Ireland’s solicitor, Stuart Gilhooly SC.“The upshot of this advice has been protracted correspondence between Mr Gilhooly and the club. Instead of terminating the contract as alleged, it transpires that they had in fact set about invoking Section 18 of the Standard Players Contract which states that if a player is deemed to have a permanent incapacity as determined by an agreed and independent physician, then the club is entitled to terminate the contract with six months notice.McClean made 108 appearances as a Wrexham player, winning League One before heading back to where it all startedGetty“To date, no physician, either independent or agreed, has reached such a conclusion. Indeed, an Orthopaedic Surgeon, Mr Desmond Gibson, who saw him at the request of the club as recently as 21 September said he believes he can continue to play football as long as he is not in severe pain. He is not in severe pain and is willing, able and anxious to return to playing for Derry City.“The club has a duty of care to James, who they signed without conducting a medical. He is much loved native of Derry and highly regarded Irish international centurion. We would hope that this matter can be resolved in an amicable and sensible manner and in such a way that would allow James to play again for the club he loves.”What did McClean say?McClean added his own words to the statement as well in which he made it clear he wouldn’t be forced into retiring.He said: “This has been one of the most difficult periods of my life, both personally and professionally. When I agreed to come home from Wrexham, I did so in good faith, based on commitments made to me both playing wise and regarding my future after football. I uprooted my family midway through the school year because I believed in the vision presented to me, both for the short term and the long term.“I accept that some of my actions over the past few months were misjudged, and my frustrations should have remained in-house. I take responsibility for that – and I apologise. Derry City is my club, and I respect everyone who cares about it as much as I do.“I was asked to help drive standards, to speak up, and to use my experience to further professionalise my hometown club. From the start of the season, I tried to do this to the best of my ability, but I felt when I did my opinions were not well received. McClean isn’t giving up his contract without a fightGetty“While I’m happy to hold myself accountable when I am wrong and when my performances have not been to the levels I expect of myself, I cannot understand or accept that I have been treated this way over the past few months.“For any club to feel it is ok to attempt to terminate a player’s contract without any due process or just cause is incomprehensible, and it sets a dangerous precedent for every player in this league.“I was approaching 37 years old when I signed for Derry City. It is well accepted that any player of that age will have occasional injury issues. I have been open about what my body now faces, and that has not been easy to come to terms with.“But I am not permanently incapacitated, or anything even remotely close to that. I am capable of contributing and doing well in the League of Ireland. I train as hard and give as much as anyone.“I will decide when I retire. Nobody else will make that decision for me. When that time comes, my body will tell me. This is my life and my career. I deserve the same duty of care and fairness given to the majority of other players at Derry City FC.“I am ready to play when called upon.”What has happened with McClean and Derry?McClean played ten of the first 11 League of Ireland games he could before suffering injury.The hip problem kept him out of action for five games.He returned but started four of the next seven with his final league match being 56 minutes in a 4-2 defeat at the start of July.The former Republic of Ireland international hasn’t appeared since, and McClean has been very vocal about his situation.He has cited broken promises, and he is back in training with his deal due to expire in November, and it remains to be seen if he gets to represent his boyhood club again.