Harlequins RL have announced that former Kangaroo test prop Richard Villasanti, an early season capture from Cronulla Sharks, has been forced to retire at the age of 27 after failing to recover from close season knee surgery.

It was hoped that the player nicknamed “Villa the Gorilla” due to his all actions style would add power and aggression to a Quins pack that has been criticised for a lack of depth, but the failure of his knee to respond to rehabilitation has restricted him to just a handful of academy fixtures for the club.

It is hoped that the club will now be able to use up the extra space under the salary cap to bring in a replacement, with the club currently facing problems in the forwards with experienced prop Daniel Heckenberg out for the rest of the season and recent injuries to Louis McCarthy-Scarsbrook, Henry Paul and skipper Rob Purdham.