Gloucester have been dealt a blow after Alex Brown was forced to hang up his boots.
The 33-year-old injured his shoulder in the Cherry & Whites' Premiership opener against Northampton Saints and has failed to recover.
Brown has spent almost a decade at Kingsholm and has made 63 European appearances.
"It's a decision which has been taken out of my hands," said Brown
"It's a horrendous day but I've got some huge memories of Kingsholm and the time I've spent playing here."
The former England international switched to Kingsholm from Bristol in 2003 and established himself as a first team regular.
It is the latest injury to strike Brown, who battled damage to his other shoulder last season.
He underwent surgery in September and although successful he is unable to continue playing.
"It was a one-off hit and that was it," he added.
"I had pain running through my arm and a lack of sensation. I knew I'd done something quite bad but I didn't know to what scale at that point.
"I thought it was something that would fix itself over time. But I soon realised it was something quite serious. It's gutting it's ended this way."
