Leinster centre Conor O'Brien forced to retire due to injury

Leinster centre Conor O'Brien has announced his retirement from professional rugby with immediate effect.

The 26-year-old made his debut for the Irish province during the 2017/18 season but a hamstring injury hampered his progress restricting his total appearances to 24 games.

His last appearance for Leinster came in last October during the game against Dragons and it was also his only appearance for them during the entire season.

"It’s a very difficult decision to make or more to the point, a very difficult conversation to have with the medics," he told Leinster's official website.

"But over the last few years we left no stone unturned in Leinster Rugby to try to get myself back to where I felt I should be.

"I’d like to wholeheartedly thank my physiotherapist Karl Denvir and the team doctor, Prof John Ryan for all their help.

"There are so many highs as an athlete but definitely there are lows as well and the team off the pitch of doctors and physios are brilliant because they pick us up from our lowest, time and time again. I can’t thank them enough.

"Of course, I’d love for it to have continued and I was hopeful that maybe with a bit of luck the injuries would heal but they haven’t."

"I was always very conscious of who I was playing for. For Mullingar RFC. For my area. For Westmeath. For the wider province. My family and friends. It really did mean a lot to me and it means a lot to all the players in there.

"It’s a special group, who I know are capable of great things in the seasons to come. I wish them all the best."