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He previously played for Norwich, Cambridge United, Manchester United, Coventry, Millwall, and Aston Villa.
Whilst playing for Aston Villa against Sheffield Wednesday he sustained a life threatening broken neck as a result of which he permanently has a titanium plate holding three neck vertebrae together.
Dion Dublin began his footballing career with Norwich City on leaving school in 1985, but he never made the first team and was given a free transfer in 1988. He signed for Cambridge United, and his prolific goalscoring won them promotion from the Fourth to Second Division in successive seasons (1990 to 1991). In 1991-92, he played a big part in helping Cambridge finish in a club-best fifth place in the last ever season of the old Second Division, but when Cambridge failed to win promotion via the playoffs Dublin was put up for sale. He was sold to Manchester United for £1million, but missed most of the 1992-93 season due to a broken leg - although he did merit enough league appearances for a Premiership title winners medal.
In 1993-94, Dublin regained his fitness but his first team chances were restricted by the excellent form of Eric CantonaEric Cantona (born May 24, 1966 in Marseille) is a former French footballer. He ended his professional footballing career at Manchester United where he won four Premiership titles in five years, including two FA Cup " doubles". Cantona is often regarded a. He was left out of the F.A. Cup winning team and failed to merit enough appearances for another Premiership title winners medal, and soon after the end of the season he was sold to Coventry City for £2million.
In four-and-a-half years with Coventry, Dublin established himself as one of the Premiership's top strikers and during the 1997-98 season won the first of his four England full caps. He was left out the England 1998 World Cup squad, but his exploits at club level were still attracting attention and in the autumn of 1998 he was sold to Aston Villa for £4.5million. In 1999-2000, he helped Aston Villa reach their first F.A Cup final in 43 years (although they lost 1-0 to ChelseaChelsea can be: A neighbourhood in London, see: Chelsea, London, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea A London football club, see: Chelsea F. A neighborhood in New York City, see: Chelsea, Manhattan A well-known hotel in Chelsea, Manhattan, see: Hotel) despite missing a lot of the season with a broken neck.
Having regained his fitness, Dublin remained on the Villa Park payroll until his contract expired in the summer of 2004 and he was given a free transfer. He was signed by Leicester City, who had just been relegated from the Barclaycard Premiership to the newly named Coca Cola Football League Championship.