BLACKBURN keeper Alan Miller has been forced to quit professional football.

The former Arsenal and West Brom stopper made the heartbreaking decision after finally accepting defeat in his battle to overcome a serious back injury.

Miller suffered a slipped disc as a result of a freak training ground accident shortly before Christmas.

But after an operation and months of intensive treatment, the 33-year-old has failed to make a full recovery and he's now taken the tough decision to quit on medical advice.

He becomes the second Blackburn player in a month to retire from the game due to injury after Stig Bjornebye was forced to make a similar decision recently.

But Miller admits he has known for some time that he was facing a losing battle to save his career.

"It's been a frustrating time for me," said Miller.

"When I got the injury I knew it was serious. I went for a scan and it showed up quite a few problems.

"I'd had an operation on my back about 10 or 11 years ago and that went well but this was in the same area and when I knew that I didn't want it operating on again."

"We tried various forms of rehabilitation. I had different types of traction, we tried an epidural, and I just tried to rest it as well.

"But it soon became apparent that none of that was working so when I went back to see the surgeon we tried surgery as a last resort and, although the operation went well in terms of my everyday life, I was then advised that to carry on playing would only cause more long-term damage.

"So I've had no real choice but to call it a day, which is very sad, but it happens to a lot of players and you've just got to try and stay positive about it."

Miller, who was signed by Tony Parkes in a £50,000 deal from West Brom in February 2000, has enjoyed a distinguished career which has featured stints at 13 different clubs.

And although only a handful of his 248 career appearances were made with Rovers, he thoroughly enjoyed his time at Ewood, where he was a popular figure amongst the players.

"It feels very sad to leave because the club have been good to me and I've enjoyed my time here, even though I haven't played very much," said Miller.

"But when I thought about the risks of playing on I knew I had to make this decision because there's a lot of life after you've finished playing football.

"It's very frustrating and disappointing to finish in this way because I've not played too much football in the last couple of years.

"My contract was up with Rovers in the summer anyway and I was looking forward to maybe moving on elsewhere and playing in someone's first team, which is something I haven't done for a few years.

"That's not going to happen now and it's a shame that it's got to end like this but the same thing happened to Stig so you can't feel sorry for yourself."

Miller will now move to Spain where he plans to pursue a couple of business ventures and several members of Rovers' first team squad are set to fly out there next month to attend the launch of his new company.

"Five or six of the lads have said they'll come out with their wives and girlfriends, so although I'm leaving we'll still keep in touch," added Miller.