Connacht have been rocked by their second forced retirement in the space of a week after Brett Wilkinson called a halt to his career due to injury.

Just days after the news that Kyle Tonetti has been forced to quit professional rugby because of an ankle injury, Connacht have now announced that loosehead prop Wilkinson has also played his last game for the province.

The 30-year-old damaged a ligament in the upper part of his neck during Connacht's Heineken Cup game away to Saracens in January and he has been advised that he must stop playing contact sport with immediate effect.

He will have to wear a neck brace continuously for three months to stabilize the damage.

Wilkinson was born in South Africa but has become Irish-qualified during his eight years in Galway, becoming an integral part of the Connacht set-up and playing five times for the Wolfhounds as well as against the Barbarians in 2012.