Jason Robinson will retire from club rugby at the end of this season. The 32-year-old Sale captain is set to make his final club appearance against Bath on April 13th.
However, Robinson, who has won 43 caps and scored 26 Test tries, will be available for England throughout this summer and for the World Cup in September and October.
If selected for England's World Cup defence in France, he intends retiring from the sport completely after that tournament is over.
Robinson said: "I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Sale Sharks, but the time has come to move on to other things. I want my last game for Sale Sharks to be a home game (versus Bath), and I want to be able to say a big thank-you to the supporters of this great club."
Robinson, who joined Sale from Wigan rugby league club in November, 2000, has made 531 appearances in both codes of the game. His crowning glory with Sale was helping them land their first Premiership title last season.
Sale finished top after the regular 22-game league campaign, and then destroyed Leicester in the final at Twickenham.
But the current season has been a difficult one for the Sharks, having seen their hopes of mounting a successful title defence ruined by serious injuries to key players. They are ninth in the Premiership table, and not completely safe from relegation, while their Heineken Cup campaign ended at the pool stage and they reached the EDF Energy Cup semi-finals.