West Coast premiership forward Daniel Venables has announced his retirement, more than two years after suffering a serious brain injury against Melbourne.

The long-expected decision was finalised after an AFL medical panel unanimously recommended he avoid playing contact sport as part of his ongoing recovery.

Venables, 22, played 21 games and was the youngest member of the 2018 premiership team.

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West Coast football operations manager Craig Vozzo said while the confirmation was “terribly sad news”, it was not a surprising outcome.

“He tried everything to recover and play again, but ultimately that will not be possible,” Vozzo said.

“He understands and accepts the situation and I am sure that in some ways, Daniel is quite relieved to receive the medical recommendation. The club will continue to support him as he plans the next phase of his life.”

Venables told the playing group on Wednesday morning.

“I’m sad, but I guess I’m relieved because the pressure’s off and now I can focus on my rehab,” he said.

“I’m not able to play again, so I can just concentrate on my health.

“It’s not until you sit back and reflect on the time that you understand how far you’ve come and the things you have had to go through. I feel like this has matured me as a person and it will help me in the future.

“It has been two-and-a-half years, I am a very realistic person and I understood it was going to be tough to get clearance to play.

“I am grateful for the opportunity I got to play in a Grand Final. It’s pretty hard to come by and I will always have that to hang my hat on. It will always connect me to the club.”