Lithuania's EuroBasket 2003 gold-medal winning sharpshooter Arvydas Macijauskas has been forced to call it quits in professional basketball due to injuries.

The 30-year-old, who also represented Lithuania at the 2004 Olympics in Greece and the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan, had recently begun training again for the first time since 2008 when various ailments forced him off the court.

Macijauskas had wanted to return to the game and also rejoin Lithuania's national side with coach Kestutis Kemzura even including him in his preliminary squad for this summer.

The player has decided to move into a different direction.

"I have a spinal hernia, which, to play professional sports, requires an operation," Macijauskas said in an interview with the Lietuvos Rytas newspaper.

"In addition, after having the Achilles tendon surgery in September 2006, the left calf muscle is past it - two and a half inches lower than the right (calf muscle)."

More and more, it seems Lithuania must rely on their young players.

On Monday, CSKA Moscow small forward Ramunas Siskauskas said he would not return to the national team to play at the FIBA World Championship in Turkey.