QPR winger Shaun Wright-Phillips played through the pain barrier before conceding defeat to his season-ending ankle injury.
The 31-year-old underwent surgery on his right ankle on Thursday morning, ruling him out of the remaining seven matches of Rangers' Barclays Premier League survival bid.
Harry Redknapp revealed that the injury had affected Wright-Phillips' performances for some time, saying: "The operation needed doing. We tried to keep him going and he tried to keep going."
He added: "The kid's played with pain and has not felt anywhere near 100% fit for a long time.
"He couldn't train or play to his maximum, so full credit to him for trying to play through it, but in the end the pain was too much. Hopefully he'll be available for the start of next season.
"It was an accumulation of things on his ankle and he couldn't carry on.
"When he's played he's done well, but he didn't feel capable of giving absolute maximum because he felt the ankle was a problem."
Wright-Phillips announced he was recovering from the surgery in a short Twitter posting, showing a picture of his bandaged right ankle.
He wrote on Twitter: "Had my ankle surgery this morning all went well. Thanx 4 your kind wishes truly appreciate it all."
The former England international was omitted from the squad for Monday night's 3-2 defeat at Fulham and last played on March 9 in what could potentially have been his final match for the club.
Source: PA
