England v South Africa: Mark Boucher eye injury forces wicketkeeper's retirement from international cricket I had prepared for this UK tour as well, if not better than I have prepared for any tour in my career. I had never anticipated announcing my retirement now, but circumstances have dictated differently. I have a number of thank yous to make to people who have made significant contributions during my international career, which I will do in due course. For now I would like to thank the huge number of people, many of whom are strangers, for their heartfelt support during the past 24 hours. I am deeply touched by all the well wishes. I wish the team well in the UK, as I head home and onto a road of uncertain recovery. Boucher was due to retire from international cricket at the end of this tour anyway but at 35 would probably have hoped to cash in on Twenty20 cricket for a number of years in the future. But the extent of the injury could make any return to cricket difficult. As a right-handed batsmen his left eye is the leading eye facing down the wicket and as a keeper his reactions will be affected by any loss of vision. Boucher underwent a three-hour operation on Monday evening to repair some of the damage and the immediate concern is not whether he plays cricket again but if he can keep any sight in that eye. Damage to the surface of the eyeball is of less concern than structural distortion to the inside of the eye. Professor Harminder Dua, president of the Royal College of Ophthalmologists, told the Daily Telegraph: "He has had a repair of the globe of the eye which is a serious injury. When the eye ball bursts open some of the contents of the eye are spilled out. He may have lost the lens or it may have separated. The severity of the injury can vary. If it was just the surface of the eye ball that was stitched up then things can be good. But because he was hit by a blunt object they generally cause a rupture and the damage is severe. The shockwaves from the blow cause a lot of destruction. It is reasonable to assume the prognosis for sight in that eye will be poor. If everything goes well and he has an artificial lens inserted then he will get useful vision but unlikely to be as good as before. Boucher played 147 Tests and was a tough competitor both with the bat and in his approach to the game. He finished with 998 international dismissals.