Wales flanker Navidi retires due to serious neck injury

Wales flanker Josh Navidi has been forced to retire at the age of 32 after failing to recover from a serious neck injury, his team Cardiff said.

Navidi had not played since sustaining the injury during Wales' third test in South Africa in July 2022. He won 33 caps for the national side and toured with the British and Irish Lions to South Africa in 2021 without being capped in a test.

Navidi won three Six Nations titles, including a Grand Slam, and also helped Wales reach the semi-finals at the 2019 World Cup in Japan, where they lost to eventual champions South Africa.

"It is with great sadness but also an immense amount of pride that I am announcing my retirement from rugby," Navidi, who made 184 appearances for Cardiff, said in a club statement on Thursday.

"Although I knew this day would come eventually, I don't think I was ever really able to prepare myself for how difficult it would be to put into words just how much of an impact the game has had on my life.

"I will certainly miss playing but I am very proud of everything I have achieved in my career, whether with Cardiff, Wales or the British and Irish Lions, and I'm now looking forward to the next chapter beyond rugby."