Cardiff Blues lock Deiniol Jones has confirmed he has been forced to retire after losing his battle against a shoulder injury.
Blues stalwart fails to fully recover from shoulder surgery
Cardiff Blues lock Deiniol Jones has confirmed he has been forced to retire after losing his battle against a shoulder injury.
Jones arrived at the club from the Celtic Warriors in 2004 - and went on to become the first player to make 100 appearances for the region.
However, having gone on to play 175 games for the Blues - as well as winning 13 caps for Wales - Jones has been forced to hang up his boots.
The 34-year-old said: "I had an operation on both shoulders in November because they were getting too painful for me to continue playing and there was quite a bit of damage in both of them.
Massive blow
"After rehab, one shoulder has improved pretty well but the other one is at the stage where there is no hope of getting back to the strength and stability needed to play rugby.
"So, the advice I have been given by the surgeons is that I have to retire from the game.
"It has been a massive blow for me and it's a hard pill to swallow at the moment.
"However, if I take a step back and look at what has been achieved in the eight years I have been here at the Blues, then I am really proud to have been part of the development and progress that has been made."
