Thurgood made a name for himself as a tough-tackling midfielder

Dagenham & Redbridge midfielder Stuart Thurgood has announced his retirement after suffering a serious knee injury.

The 28-year-old has not made a first-team appearance since tearing his cartilage in the 2-1 defeat by Rochdale in November 2009.

"I've now had four operations on my knee to take the cartilage out and to try to repair it but it's just not worked," he said.

"My knee isn't getting any better. It's sore on a day-to-day basis."

The former Tottenham trainee made 19 Daggers appearances after signing from Grays Athletic at the beginning of last season.

"The physio John Gowens has done all he possibly can to help me," he added.

I've just got to get used to not kicking a ball and doing something I've always loved doing. It's not until you don't do it that you realise how lucky you are Dagenham & Redbridge's Stuart Thurgood

"He's given me the rest that I needed and helped me do all the work I could do on it. There wasn't any more John could have done for me and I'd like to thank him for that."

Thurgood enjoyed two spells with Grays, as well as a short stint at Gillingham, and will be familiar to Southend fans, making 79 league appearances for the Shrimpers.

The hard-working midfielder is unsure what he will do next.

"The club have been really good to me and offered me a job coaching with the academy but at the moment it's not something I want to look into," he said.

"I've just got to get my head around the idea of not playing again. I turned that job down but I want to thank the club for trying to help me all they can.

"I've just got to get used to not kicking a ball and doing something I've always loved doing. It's not until you don't do it that you realise how lucky you are."

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