North Melbourne defender Nathan Grima has announced his immediate retirement from AFL football after being plagued by a back injury.
The 29-year-old will undergo a third operation, this time to fuse a disc in his spine, after a recent setback in his recovery.
Grima, who played 86 games for the Kangaroos over eight years, has been dogged by injuries throughout his career and had various operations on his knees, ankles, fingers, feet and hands that have caused him to miss about 100 games.