Former Australia captain Andrew Johns has been forced to retire from rugby league due to a neck injury.
The 32-year-old Newcastle Knights scrum-half has a bulging disk in his neck and opted to quit after describing the ailment as 'potentially catastrophic'.
Johns suffered the injury while attempting a tackle on Canberra five-eighth Todd Carney eight days ago and aggravated it during a training session on Thursday in a collision with Newcastle team-mates Daniel Abraham and Adam Woolnough.
'I never really wanted to think about it (retirement). It's a shame it's finished like this,' Johns said. 'It was really tough telling my family.
'I made an emotional call to my brother Matthew and it was even tougher talking to the players this afternoon.'
Johns is the leading-points scorer in National Rugby League history with 2,176 from 249 games.
He also played a leading role in the Knights' Premiership wins in 1997 and 2001.
'I knew that the end would be coming soon, I knew in my heart that this year would be my last year,' he added.
'The big challenge is what I do next. I don't what I'll do but I will stay involved with Newcastle.'
NRL chief executive David Gallop led the tributes to Johns, saying: 'For 15 years he has been a colossal figure in our game. Whether it was for the Knights, the Blues or the Kangaroos he commanded an unrivalled level of admiration for his brilliant skills in attack and defence and for his competitiveness.'
