Wales and Cardiff Blues centre Tom Shanklin has been forced to retire from rugby due to a knee injury.

Shanklin underwent surgery earlier this year in an attempt to cure the problem.

But the 31-year-old, who won 70 Wales caps and toured New Zealand with the 2005 British and Irish Lions, couldn't recover well enough to resume playing and has followed medical advice to end his playing career.

"My knee isn't too bad, it's okay to walk and cycle and to do everyday things. But with regards to playing rugby - accelerating, changing direction, weightlifting - it's not too good," Shanklin said on Thursday.

"I had an operation in January to see if we could fix the problem and it hasn't worked.

"It's bone on bone on my knee which has restricted me from doing a lot of things, and I am going to have to retire from the game.

"It was down to me to decide if I could continue or not, but I can't go on as it's too sore.

"It's a pretty black and white situation. I cannot fully function with it, and I need to start taking account of my body and start listening to it."

Shanklin, whose father Jim also played for Wales, enjoyed a highly-successful international career and was part of Wales' Six Nations Grand Slam victories in 2005 and 2008.

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