Watford's Francis forced to quit

Francis joined Watford for a fee of £1.5m in July 2006 from Wigan

Watford midfielder Damien Francis has announced his retirement following a serious knee injury.

Francis, 29, damaged his cruciate knee ligament in the 1-1 draw with Manchester City in April 2007.

London-born Francis made the decision to retire on strong medical advice following a series of setbacks whilst trying to regain complete fitness.

"I'm devastated to have to accept the decision to announce my retirement," he told the club website.

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"But I have been strongly advised by my surgeon that I cannot continue to put my knee through such trauma."

He joined Watford in July 2006 from Wigan Athletic for a fee of £1.5m.

Francis made 44 starts and 13 substitute appearances during his stint with the Hornets, netting nine goals

He began his career at Wimbledon before their move to Milton Keynes, but left Selhurst Park in 2003 for a two-year spell with Norwich before joining Wigan in 2005.

He made 276 senior appearances in his career, scoring 39 goals.