Fulham defender Zdenek Grygera has retired from football, manager Martin Jol has confirmed.
Grygera, who joined Fulham in 2011, did not have his contract renewed at the end of the season after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament.
The 32-year-old, who has earned 65 international caps for the Czech Republic, continued his rehabilitation in the hope of earning a new deal but has now called time on his playing career.
"Grygera told me that he will quit," said Jol.
"He will stay with us until the December 15. He is retiring as it is now as he first wants to be healthy, sound and get back to his fitness because he has a few problems with his hip and his knee.
"He was probably never 100 per cent, not even 90 per cent, but he is an unbelievable character.
"He started two weeks ago but then after 10 minutes had to quit again so he made the decision to call it a day for now.
"If he feels fine in the summer, maybe he could start somewhere in Austria or in his country, the Czech Republic.
"It is a shame and it was hard for him, but he was very realistic and of course he was not under contract here because he never played games.
"I feel for him because I think there was another two or three years in him but it was his decision.
"He is retiring from Fulham and England. He wants to be fit and doesn't want to end up in a wheelchair. That is actually what he said and I know what he means."
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The Spaniard has been under fire since his controversial appointment at Stamford Bridge last month, with his unpopularity amongst fans in large part down to comments he made about the west Londoners and their fans whilst Liverpool boss.
Benitez has hardly done much to inspire faith with two draws and a defeat in his opening three Barclays Premier League games - scoring just one goal in that time - to slip 10 points behind leaders Manchester United.
There are already reports that owner Roman Abramovich is looking to replace Benitez but Grant shot down rumours linking him with a return to the club he guided to the Champions League final in 2008 and added the former Valencia boss needs to be fully supported by the Blues.
"Nobody from Chelsea has offered me this job," the Israeli told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"I heard a rumour but I think this is not what's important.
"What's important is Chelsea have a manager and the club need to support him and not look for any other things."
When asked if he would consider working alongside Benitez, Grant responded: "I don't think it's the right idea for the moment.
"I don't like to speak about myself now because I have other things to do at this stage.
"I think Benitez is a very experienced coach and manager and I don't think a few weeks after they give him the job he will leave and I don't think it will be right.
"He needs to use all experience to take the club in a different direction and they need to do everything to support him and not to look around."
Benitez did at least claim his first victory with the Blues last night although a 6-1 Champions League win over FC Nordsjaelland was not enough to seal a passage to the knockout stages following Juventus' 1-0 win at Shakhtar Donetsk.
Chelsea instead became the first holders of the Champions League crown to drop out of the tournament at the group stage.
Grant, who was last in charge of Partizan Belgrade, believes Chelsea need to carry on winning in order to convince the club's supporters Benitez is the man for the job.
"Any winning is good and what Rafa needs is a good win and good football really to convince the supporters that they need to support him," he added.
"But I think more than this the club needs to support him then it will be easy for him because it's not easy times for Chelsea, first time out of the Champions League next stage and the gap between them and the first place in the league, I think he needs it and they need it."
The 26-year-old Honduras international has long been linked with a move to the DW Stadium and is set to swap Major League Soccer for the Premier League when his MLS contract expires at the end of the year.
Espinoza is a versatile player who can play in either defence or midfield and he impressed at this summer's Olympics with his performance against Brazil in the quarter-finals.
Martinez said: "We're working really hard to try to make it happen and we're looking forward to seeing if we can get that one done successfully.
"There are a few steps: there is the work permit, there are certain aspects we need to fulfil in the paperwork but Roger is a player that we've been following for a long, long time.
"We've seen him enjoying his football in the Olympic Games recently with Honduras, and in the World Cup as well he's been an important part of that group of players with (Wigan defender) Maynor Figueroa. He would be a real asset for us.
"But until January 1 we can't do anymore than wait and make sure we prepare ourselves for the steps we've got ahead to make him a Wigan Athletic player."
Although United head to the Etihad Stadium three points clear of their neighbours, who were dumped out of Europe altogether on Tuesday, Ferguson is adopting a cautious approach.
In his programme notes ahead of Wednesday night's 1-0 defeat to CFR Cluj Ferguson outlined his belief that both sides may opt to play safe.
The United boss is particularly fearful of his leaky defence.
And it leads him to conclude it would be a significant moment in his Old Trafford tenure if the Red Devils were to come out on top.
"If we win [on Sunday] it will be one of our best ever results," Ferguson told MUTV.
"They are a really good, powerful team with massive players.
"It won't be easy and if we defend like we did at Reading we'll be in trouble.
"The important thing for us is to take lessons from the mistakes we're making and do something about it. We need to find a solution."
With Chelsea and Arsenal sliding out of the picture, and Liverpool having never been in it, even at this early stage, it appears to be a straight battle between the two Manchester clubs this season.
Ferguson, who has a fitness doubt over Tom Cleverley, is not buying into that assessment.
"At this time in the season you can't really say it's a two-horse race," he said.
"If you think back we were 12 points behind Chelsea at one point and when Arsenal beat us in the league in 1998 we were 11 points clear."
The 27-year-old has been missing since the 3-1 defeat to Sunderland three weeks ago and was expected to return against Newcastle.
However, Fulham manager Martin Jol has confirmed Ruiz will miss Monday's match and will be out until the New Year after suffering a setback.
"He came back on Monday then he had a setback and he will be out for at least four weeks," Jol said.
"It is the same injury. He was in the final stage of his rehabilitation and he aggravated his hamstring muscle again.
"He has had intensive screening and that highlighted some problems."
Jol has voiced his frustration in the past at the number of injuries Ruiz has picked up, especially when he has travelled back to his native Costa Rica for international duty.
The Dutchman, though, insists the hamstring complaint has nothing to do with that.
"He had this hamstring injury before, now we've found out it is a structural thing," Jol said.
"We had a second opinion and hopefully we found a solution now, but he needs treatment and he will be out for the next four weeks.
"Maybe before he went back to his country and then he came back with a different injury, but as it is now it is the same injury all the time. The same area.
"Hopefully we have found a solution. We sent him to Germany with our people and Doctor [Hans-Wilhelm] Muller-Wohlfahrt is a specialist I know from my time there.
"Hopefully he will be fine in four weeks now but of course it is a big disappointment.
"As you know, Bryan was a vital player for us and every time he played, like against Arsenal, Southampton and Wigan, he was quite important, but we've got other players. Good luck to him and he will be back after Christmas."
