James McClean says he cannot “understand or accept” how he has been treated by Derry City amid an ongoing contract dispute with the club.

In a statement released on the Professional Footballers’ Association of Ireland (PFAI) website, the former Republic of Ireland international describes attempts by the League of Ireland club to terminate his contract as “incomprehensible” and says he will decide himself when is the right time to retire.

The 37-year-old insists he is still fit and available to play “when called upon” despite being left out of the squad by interim manager Mark Connolly.

McClean did apologise for some “misjudged” actions on his part over recent months, adding that “his frustrations should have remained in-house”.

He returned to his hometown club from Wrexham in the close-season in January but has not been included in a match-day squad since the Candystripes’ Uefa Conference League defeat by Rijeka in early July.

Reports have indicated in recent months that Derry attempted to terminate McClean’s contract because of persistent injuries, a matter alluded to in Tuesday’s statement by the PFAI.

The statement says that Derry had attempted to invoke Section 18 of the Standard Players Contract, which permits them to terminate a contract with six months’ notice when a player is deemed to have a “permanent incapacity”, as confirmed by an independent physician.

“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,” said McClean.

“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.”

The PFAI gave further information on the nature and extent of the player’s injury.

“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,” the statement read.

“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.”

BBC Sport NI contacted Derry City for comment but a spokesperson said that the club were presently “solely focused on this weekend’s FAI Cup semi-final against Galway United (Saturday, 15:00 BST kick-off).