FORMER Wanderers keeper Keith Branagan has been forced to retire after a nine-month fight against a shoulder injury.

The Ipswich Town goalkeeper, who moved to Suffolk in March 2000 after seven-and-a-half years with the Wanderers, damaged ligaments in training last January and had an operation three months later. But despite extensive rehabilitation and consultations with medical experts, Keith has been advised to quit the game.

The 36-year-old shot-stopper was Bruce Rioch's first signing for the Wanderers in July 1992, when he signed on a free-transfer from Millwall. He made over 250 appearances for the Club including the famous play-off final against Reading in 1995 when he saved a penalty.

Branagan said: "A couple of weeks ago I returned to training and started to step up my work. But then I went to make a routine save again and the pain hit me, hard."

"I went to see the specialist who had done the operation on Tuesday and after talking to him for a while, he told me the injury was never going to get any better and that I had to give up playing.

"Basically, if you take the shoulder as a ball and socket joint, I have nothing to ease the movement between the two. Consequently, the pain starts when the shoulder is activated in certain ways.

"I have never been at a club where a player has had to retire from injury before so it is unknown territory for me. I have been in touch with the PFA for advice and I'm sure that will be ongoing until everything is sorted out."

The former Republic of Ireland international now plans to return to Bolton where his family are based and begin a career as a goalkeeping coach.

"I've got to channel my energy into something and have been talking about coaching for a while," he added.