Liverpool midfielder Stewart Downing has expressed his shock at the announcement of Jamie Carragher's retirement, insisting that he will be a "huge loss" to the club.
The veteran defender revealed that he is to retire at the end of the current season on Thursday.
Downing admitted that he thought Carragher would continue for another year and said it is a "real shame" to see him end his career.
"I was as shocked as anyone when Carra announced he's retiring," Downing told The Mirror. "He has been outstanding in the last couple of weeks and I thought maybe he's got the itch back to give it one more year.
"But I can understand it in a way, because he's not one of those to be sitting around - you can see he's frustrated when he's not playing. It would be great to get a top-four spot and to win something - for him to go out on a high.
"Carra's going for the whole game and you can see he's got the potential to be a manager, the way he thinks about the game and knows so much about every player. It's a real shame he's stopping, and he will be a huge loss to us."
Liverpool face West Bromwich Albion on Monday night.
Sam Hughes
