BRAVE defender Stig Bjornebye today spoke of the heartbreaking moment when he was forced to accept his career was over.

The former Norwegian international officially announced his retirement from the professional game yesterday following an 11-month battle to overcome a serious eye injury.

But he actually reached his agonising decision several weeks ago during a family holiday to his native Norway.

"I went away for a couple of weeks for a little break and I went cross-country skiing with my wife and kids, and we sat down in the sunshine and I knew then that the decision was made," said Bjornebye.

"I'd had a gut-feeling before I went on that break, to be honest, because I've always been a realist, not a daydreamer, but there comes a time when you've got to admit it to yourself, and that was it."

Bjornebye's nightmare began last April when he challenged for a ball with two team-mates and got caught in the face by a flailing arm.

Initially, he suffered concussion and double vision as a result of the accident but it was only after closer inspection that he realised he had suffered an orbital blow-out fracture (fractured eye socket) -- an injury which was far more serious.

By anyone's standards, the initial prognosis made for shocking reading.

Scans revealed the thin layer of bone behind the cheek which supports the eye had perished and all the tissue had disappeared through a hole to the sinuses.

To complicate matters even further, one of the muscles which works the eye was also in the fracture line.

Consequently, Bjornebye was left with acute double vision and he spent the next four months in a frightening twilight world.

But two delicate operations and months of careful rehabilitation in the gym at Brockhall gave the 33-year-old hope that he would play again.

And he appeared to have made a remarkable recovery when he returned to first team duty for a Worthington Cup tie against Wigan in December.

But that proved to be his one and only appearance as his comeback plans then suffered a further blow as a result of a foot injury and he finally bowed to medical advice.

"I think I gave myself false hope looking back because I've always been so positive," said Bjornebye.

"People were asking me 'How are you doing?' and I always said 'I'm fine. I think I'm going to be okay.'

"But I wasn't so much fooling myself, that's just the attitude I've had throughout it because I needed to be positive and needed to believe that when I got out of bed every morning I was going to take another step towards full fitness.

"It was a strange feeling playing in that Wigan game but I didn't want to admit it to myself that perhaps things wouldn't work out.

"I just said to myself 'I'm through the first test and there's a few more to come' but it wasn't to be and I now know that's the right decision."

It's possible that Bjornebye may be left with a degree of double vision for the rest of his life as further surgery could do more harm than good.

But the Norwegian's philosophy throughout all this has been 'what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger' and he's determined to look forward now, not back.

"I don't want to look back at what I've done and be sad about it," said the former Liverpool defender, who was capped 73 times by his country.

"I've had a great 10 years in England and a few years before that in professional football in Norway so I'm quite happy with my career.

"Of course I'm sad that it's ended in such a way because I wanted it to end differently but it wasn't to be so I'm just looking forward to doing other things in life now.

"I've got a family to look after and I've got some other interesting things to grab hold of when I get back to my native Norway.

"I'm pretty sure I'm going to miss football but I've got some very, very interesting contacts here and I might come back one day. You never know."

Whatever the future holds, the one thing he can be certain about is how much he will miss Blackburn Rovers.

He arrived three years ago in a cut-price move from Liverpool, helping the club to promotion in his first full season, and then glory in the Worthington Cup final the following year.

"Moving to Blackburn was probably the most enjoyable move I ever made," added Bjornebye.

"When Graeme came in for me I was on loan at Brondby at the time but we went out for a meal, had a good chat, and he basically told me then that he wanted to sign me and I've just felt so much at home here ever since.

"The people who get to come here are very, very lucky and I can't praise Blackburn Rovers enough.

"I think the love and care I've had from this club and everyone involved is enough to push me on further in life. It really has been unbelievable."