Henrik Larsson is planning to play out his career with a steel pin in his right leg.

The 28-year-old Celtic striker is currently recovering from a double fracture suffered in the UEFA Cup first leg match against Lyon last October.

To keep him involved with the players, he was invited to join the squad at their winter training camp in the Algarve.

Larsson insists he won't play again this season and that would rule him out of Sweden's participation in Euro 2000.

He said: "At the moment I am just trying to build up the muscles in the leg and I will be going for another X-ray very soon.

"The bone needs to heal and I have a pin in the leg from around the knee to the ankle.

"I can't feel the pin but I can feel the screw. However I intend to keep the pin until I finish playing.

"When I suffered the injury I knew it would take about nine months to recover, so I have about six months to go.

"People talk about maybe the need for a sport psychologist to get me through this. But I have support from family and friends as well as the club and that's all I need.

"It is the longest holiday I have ever been on. However I have to be realistic about the situation.

"I am doing some cycling on a machine and going to the pool, so I am training quite a lot.

"I intend to keep it going because I know it helps the circulation in the leg and that's important."