\n<\/p>\n
BBC Sport rugby union news reporter Mike Henson:<\/i><\/p>\n
It was widely expected Care would follow his former team-mate and friend Joe Marler into the sunset, hanging up his boots at the end of this season.<\/p>\n
Those expectations were partly set by Care himself. <\/p>\n
“I’m still a Harlequins player at the time of writing, although whether I make it to the end of another season remains to be seen,” he wrote in the autobiography released in the autumn.<\/p>\n
“The pain in my knee and shoulder isn’t getting any easier and there are times when I’d rather be anywhere else than on a training ground. Rugby is no sport for old men.”<\/p>\n
But, with the help of modern conditioning and recovery methods, players have been able to play longer.<\/p>\n
Care’s former Harlequins team-mate Mike Brown, who will turn 40 this year, is still turning out for Leicester, while former Premiership stalwart Jimmy Gopperth is playing in the French second tier aged 41.<\/p>\n
Care’s decision to stay on may affect succession planning at Quins. <\/p>\n
In addition to Will Porter, they also have highly rated 18-year-old Lucas Friday as a scrum-half option. However, they were reported to have lined up Sale’s Raffi Quirke, external<\/span><\/a> as an end-of-season replacement for Care.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n