Injury forces rugby league star to quit

Updated 10.29 Tue Apr 10 2007
Keywords: Andrew Johns, rugby league, sport

Former Australia rugby league captain Andrew Johns has been forced to retire from the game due to a neck problem which he has described as as "potentially catastrophic".

The 32-year-old, who plays scrum-half in Australia for Newcastle Knights, is arguably the greatest player in the history of the game having scored a record-breaking 2,176 points in 249 league matches.

Johns suffered the neck injury while attempting a tackle on Canberra five-eighth Todd Carney eight days ago and aggravated it during a training session

He said: "I never really wanted to think about it (retirement). It's a shame it's finished like this. It was really tough telling my family. I made an emotional call to my brother Matthew and it was even tougher talking to the players this afternoon."

Johns suffered the neck injury while attempting a tackle on Canberra five-eighth Todd Carney eight days ago.

And he aggravated it during a training session last week in a collision with Newcastle team-mates Daniel Abraham and Adam Woolnough.

Johns added: "I knew that the end would be coming soon, I knew in my heart that this year would be my last year. The big challenge is what I do next. I don't what I'll do but I will stay involved with Newcastle."

In addition to being the leading-points scorer in National Rugby League history, Johns played a leading role in the Knights' Premiership triumphs in 1997 and 2001.

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