DANNY Wilson hopes to make one additional recruit to the Glasgow pack for next season after it was announced that openside forward Chris Fusaro is to retire at the end of the current campaign. The Warriors are expected to announce a new signing in another area of the team tomorrow, but the head coach explained that he still aims to find another forward.

“We have one more [signing] to make,” Wilson said yesterday. “I would like to add to the back five of our scrum, be it back row or second row - we will see.”

With Tom Gordon having emerged as a key player this season and Rory Darge having been outstanding against his former team Edinburgh at the weekend, it is unlikely that Wilson will try to recruit another specialist 7 to replace Fusaro. Australian international back-row Jack Dempsey has already signed for next season, but the plan now could be to find a versatile lock-cum-blindside.

Fusaro, 31, made his Warriors debut way back in 2010, and with 183 games under his belt is third on the team’s all-time appearances list behind Rob Harley and Ryan WIlson. He came off the bench in Glasgow’s 2015 PRO12 final victory over Munster and has four Scotland caps, but injuries have restricted him to just a handful of outings this season.

“Chris has not played a lot of rugby for us this year,” Wilson added. “He had a bit of a nasty injury. But from knowing him from old and working with him here, he’s a model pro.

“He contributes massively off the field, although he has not been able to contribute massively on the field. His training standards have been immaculate. He’s very popular here and played a lot of rugby here over a long period of time. The boys gave him an emotional send-off. He’s a top bloke.”

Fusaro, who began his senior career with Howe of Fife, announced his retirement on Instagram. "The years are full of nothing but the best of memories, and it is hard to put into words my gratitude to everyone who has helped me make them," he said.

“To all my coaches at Glasgow who gave me the opportunities to play for a team who take immense pride in what it means to represent the Warriors, thank you. To the fans at Firhill and then Scotstoun who have given us incredible support over the years, without you our team wouldn’t be where it is today.

“To all my brothers, past and present, the memories I’ve made with you, on and off the pitch, will last a lifetime. I’ll miss the feeling after a game when you look around and know that everyone has given everything, although the not-being-sore part might be quite nice… “Last of all, my long-suffering wife, Katie. Thank you for being there for the whole journey, for the many ups and downs, for keeping me smiling and grounded along the way and for single-handedly bringing up our kids whilst I was away doing what I loved.”

Wilson also confirmed that he is already actively engaged in the search for a replacement for attack coach Jonny Bell, who is moving to Worcester in the summer after a single season at Scotstoun. Former Warriors full-back Pete Murchie recently joined the backroom staff as skills coach recently and Kenny Murray is staying as defence coach, but the head coach remains convinced that a fourth member of the team is required.

“We need to add to our staff - there’s no doubt about that. With Jonny going, it’s a hole we need to fill. We need that extra coach.

“This has been on the go for a while. Jonny is a hard-working coach and the boys are fond of him, but his family has struggled to settle in very difficult circumstances.

“We kind of knew [that Bell might leave] and were trying to give it some time. It’s hard then to do your research into other coaches when you have a coach that may well be staying. You can’t really dive into that until those decisions are made.

“Now they’ve been made, we’ve got into it quite quickly over the last week or two. There’s people I’m speaking to at the moment and we’ll be able to make an announcement or an appointment at the relevant time.”