Three symptoms of Stargardt disease as Michael Owen reveals son's diagnosis

Iconic footballer Michael Owen's new Prime Video docuseries reveals a little-known fact about his son, James.

Released today in a six-episode package, the third entry finds 20-year-old James (who has three siblings) opening up about living with a form of juvenile macular dystrophy known as Stargardt disease - an inherited, degenerative eye condition rendering him clinically blind.

The road to diagnosis began eight years into James' life, after a school teacher noticed he was struggling to see properly in the classroom.

"As you can imagine, it's been tough growing up," he says on camera.

"It's not good in the centre of the view and it makes it hard for me to look straight. Quite often people think I'm rude for not keeping eye contact, I'm actually looking at them in the clearest way I possibly can."

Such is the severity of this condition, the son of one of England's greatest-ever strikers was forced to accept a future away from the sport that made his family name.

"That was my dream, to follow my dad's footsteps: to be a footballer and make a great career.

"To have a realisation that it's not possible, it kills you. It used to break my heart. Every day coming back from school and I just used to cry and I used to think life was unfair," he reflected.

So what are the three main symptoms behind Stargardt disease, which is notable for causing vision loss in kids and young adults?

Per the American Academy of Ophthalmology:

• Problems with central or detailed vision in the early days. Central vision can be blurry, distorted or have dark areas. But usually, peripheral vision is not affected.
• Difficulty seeing colours.
• Trouble dealing with lighting changes. It may take longer than usual for vision to adjust when going between bright and dark areas.

Despite kissing goodbye to his footballing dream, James still lives a full and rewarding life as an online gold trader.

In the Amazon series, former Liverpool and Real Madrid player Michael admitted to feeling guilty about his son's health matters.

"We made James and I don't think I'd be normal if I didn't put myself in the mirror and think, 'You know, it's down to us that he's got this eye condition,'" he noted.

"So I did feel guilty for a little while and could say I still feel guilty now."

The 46-year-old has been married to wife Louise Bonsall since 2005, whom he shares one son and three daughters with.