SPECULATION that Yate Town legend Edd Vahid has retired from playing football has proved premature.

Vahid has left Clevedon Town, who he joined from Yate last summer, and is taking a short break from the game, but hopes to return to action next season.

The 31-year-old , who is a performance lifestyle adviser at the English Institute of Sport and worked with Great Britain’s top sailors and divers at the London 2012 Olympics, has turned down offers from other clubs, including Conference North side Gloucester City, to focus on shoulder rehab, as well as study and work commitments.

Vahid was club captain for four of his six seasons at Yate and led the team out on the biggest day in their history when they faced Cheltenham Town in the first round proper of the FA Cup in November 2012.

A consistent performer in the centre of defence or midfield, Vahid won the Supporters’ Player of the Year award four times, completing the double with the Players’ Player award on three of those occasions.

However, he was plagued by injuries in his last season at Yate and joined the mass exodus of players from Lodge Road last summer.