A persistent hamstring injury has forced AFL field umpire Hayden Kennedy to retire - five games short of the 500 milestone.

Kennedy is the all-time games' record holder in AFL for all umpires.

He suffered the hamstring injury in round 17 and had two setbacks in training, prompting him to retire immediately.

The 45-year-old umpired five grand finals, most recently in 2003.

"To reach 500 games would have been a great personal milestone and a positive story for umpires but, unfortunately, I couldn't get there for this year," he said in an AFL statement.

"I have enjoyed every minute of my career."

Umpires coach Rowan Sawers, the only other AFL umpire to officiate in more than 400 senior games, and umpiring director Jeff Gieschen paid tribute to Kennedy.

"Hayden has been an outstanding decision-maker in the game and his willingness to train hard and prepare himself for the demands of umpiring has enabled him to carve out a record that is unlikely to be ever matched," Sawers said.

Kennedy made his senior umpiring debut in 1988.

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