London Wasps have reacted with shock to the news that veteran England lock Simon Shaw no longer wants to honour his contract with the Premiership club.

The 38-year-old Shaw, who was in talks with Bath earlier this, signed a contract extension the London outfit.

The England lock has been heavily linked with a move to Toulon in recent days, with reports claiming the French side have gone as far as offering the 38-year-old a short-term contract.

However, Wasps, in a statement, said no such offer has been received.

"Simon Shaw signed a contract extension with London Wasps in August, before leaving for the World Cup with England," Wasps said in the statement.

"Simon requested that the club did not announce this at the time for personal reasons, which the club was happy to comply with.

"Upon his return, he informed the club last week that he would like to finish his career overseas.

"The club are very disappointed with this news and await an official approach for the player."

Shaw, who played for Bristol between 1990-97 and then Wasps from 1997 until two months ago, has 68 England caps and would have won many more had current national manager Martin Johnson not been playing at the same time.

But Shaw does have the distinction of having the longest lifespan of any England player in history. He made his debut back in 1996 and featured as recent as the 12-19 loss in the World Cup quarterfinal last month.

During his time at Wasps he won three Premiership titles, two Heineken Cups, two domestic cups and the Parker Pen Shield (now Amlin Cup).