ICELANDIC warrior Bjarki Gunnlaugsson has been forced to quit football after specialists confirmed the worst -- he won't recover from his hip injury.

The 28-year-old is now coming to terms with the fact the move to England he described as a dream just two years ago has become a nightmare.

The striker, whose intelligent play and personable manner made him a hit with the fans, has struggled with injury since joining Preston North End from KR Reykjavik in September 1999.

He has been struggling to overcome a hip injury since the summer. Despite undergoing several operations and course of injections to try and sort the problem out, Bjarki has struggled to recover, and this week specialists in Cambridge gave the former international the news he, and North End, had been dreading.

Preston boss David Moyes led the tributes to the player.

He said: "Bjarki is going to have to retire. He has undergone various copurses of treatment, but they have been unsuccessful and we now expect Bjarki to return to Iceland in the near future.

"I am extremely disappointed becasue Bjarki offered us something different in our side.

"He was a completely different player to what we already had and I am sure people will remember him for his play, his intelligence and his ability to change games when we have needed him too. We wish him all the best for the future.

"I can only compliment him on his attitude in the time he has been at this club."

Although the player can run, he cannot shoot at the moment.

He famously scored a hat-trick in the AutoWindscreen Shields match at Wrexham, and also a late one at Norwich.

Moyes added: "He has maybe not played in as many games, or scored as many goals as people would have liked in the last year or so.

"But as far as I'm concerned he has been part of the club's success in recent years."