Thompson retires again

The 33-year-old quit the game four years ago due to a similar injury, but a second opinion from a different doctor told him he was allowed to return to rugby.

But Thompson now faces new surgery next week and will not return to the pitch.

"I went to the specialist and he advised me it isn't safe to carry on playing," said Thompson, who has 73 caps.

Thompson signed for Wasps in the summer on a three-year deal, but the injury occurred in his first - and only - match for the club.

"It just went. I was gutted," Thompson added. "I played 60 minutes at Worcester and that was it.

"I tried to convince myself it was fine and it wasn't. I have got to accept it this time. There is no way I can play.

"I can't do what I need to do to earn a living. I scrum - that is what I do."

Thompson added that the blow is particularly hard to take in the wake of the World Cup.

"The World Cup was hard. To finish the way it did was really disappointing and then to suffer another blow a few weeks afterwards - it is like a kick in the nuts," he said.

"I was enjoying rugby. I thought I had done all right at the World Cup, compared to how some of the lads went, and I was really looking forward to Wasps.

"This operation will be more painful than the last one. I will take a break and see what opportunities come along the way."