Hawthorn forward Mitch Lewis has suffered a cruel blow with scans confirming an ACL injury.
The 25-year-old was playing his first game back after more than three months sidelined with a separate knee injury.
Lewis booted two goals before the incident in the final quarter in the Hawks’ loss to Geelong on Saturday night.
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He collided with Geelong defender Jake Kolodjashnij after courageously going back with the flight.
Lewis left the field in the hands of trainers with initial fears around a head knock. But he was cleared of concussion at the ground after subsequent scans on his knee revealed a far worse outcome.
He will undergo a knee reconstruction, which will rule him out for the rest of the 2024 season and a large chunk of 2025.
“Our thoughts are all with Mitch at this point in time,” football boss Rob McCartney said in a statement.
“He has worked so hard to get his body right and return to AFL level and this injury was a cruel blow.
“While this will spell an end to his season, we are confident that with expert guidance of our medical team and the strength of Mitch’s character that he will work his way through the immediate challenges that lie ahead.
“Only being 25 years of age, I’m extremely confident that following his rehab Mitch has a bright future ahead in the brown and gold and is an integral part of what we are building at our football club.”
It continues a wretched run on the injury front for the key forward. He missed the first six rounds of 2023 with a knee injury and has been sidelined by soft-tissue problems before.
Lewis has never played more than 15 games in a season, but has shown his firepower with 73 goals from 30 games in the previous two years.
Lewis is contracted until the end of 2026.