O'Connor has been unable to recover from a knee injury

Queen of the South striker Sean O'Connor is being forced to retire because of a knee injury.

Englishman O'Connor, 27, is now in his second spell at Palmerston and manager Gordon Chisholm told the club website: "Sean's a lovely big lad.

"All the fans, backroom staff and his fellow players think the world of him.

"He's been playing through the pain barrier with his knee problem since October and was advised to retire then. But he soldiered on bravely."

Former Dundee United forward O'Connor could make his 180th appearance for the First Division outfit against Dunfermline on Saturday.

"I hope to play him at some stage on Saturday and I'm sure the fans will be right behind him as he's done such a great job for Queen of the South over the years," added Chisholm.

"He's shown tremendous courage those past six months.

"In his prime I'm sure he could have played in the Premier League and, as I've said before, he's the best target man in the First Division.

"He and Stephen Dobbie have been a superb partnership and I'm sure Dobbs will be the first to admit he owes a lot to Sean.

"He played a huge part in the Scottish Cup semi-final (last season) and scored a great goal against Aberdeen and also gave Rangers a torrid time in the final itself."

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