Anthony Watmough has denied reports his NRL career could be over due to a chronic knee injury.

The Parramatta second-rower has had a disrupted pre-season as he returns from an operation on his left knee, and while he may miss the beginning of the season, he has no plans of calling it quits.

“I have unfinished business in rugby league. I have not retired,” the Parramatta Eels star told the Nine Network.

“I’m hoping to return in a couple of weeks, but we’ll see how it responds.”

The 32-year-old admitted last December he thought his career may have been over when he experienced a burning sensation in his leg.

He has a history of playing through pain, but struggled to even jog or jump at times in 2015.

The speculation of Watmough’s immediate retirement on Friday came as a shock to Parramatta club legend Nathan Hindmarsh.

“All reports I was hearing that they were having a good pre-season and then this,” he told the Triple M Grill Team.

“There were a few things last year regarding shoulders and what not, but for him to finish up now is a huge shock.”

The 303-game veteran is contracted to the Eels until the end of 2018, after signing with the club from Manly before the 2015 season.