Despite undergoing an operation, and working hard with the Harlequins Medical staff in rehabilitation, the 29 year old has made the difficult decision to retire.

Stuart Abbott joined Quins from London Wasps in the summer of 2006, and made his club debut in the pre-season friendly against Bourgoin (11th August 2006). A variety of injuries restricted him to just 17 appearances for the club, but in those appearances he scored two tries, one of which was in the European Challenge Cup win against Connacht.

During his time at Wasps, Abbott has been a key figure in the side, winning back-to-back Zurich Premiership finals (2003 and 2004) and the Heineken Cup in 2004.

Abbott has been capped 9 times for England and was part of the World Cup winning squad in 2003. He has appeared in three Rugby World Cup games, where his second try played a part in the runaway win over Uruguay.

Dean Richards, Harlequins Director of Rugby, said: "I'm very sorry to see Stuart go and I would like to wish him all the best with his future plans. It is very upsetting to see a player of Stuart's calibre forced to retire early because of injury. Stuart was an outstanding all round footballer, who was great in defence and attack. He will be missed at Quins."

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For any further information on Harlequins Rugby Club, then please contact Sarah Butler on 020 8410 6045 / 07872 099 514 or Stephanie Gagne on 020 8410 6062 / 07747 037 889