Melbourne swingman Tom McDonald is unlikely to play again this year after suffering a meniscus tear during the Demons’ five-point win over Carlton on Sunday.
McDonald missed the entire last quarter of the victory, leaving Melbourne with just one player on the bench after Marty Hore and Harrison Petty also suffered injuries.
The 26-year-old has avoided an ACL injury, but he is still likely to require surgery.
“The good news is that I haven’t done an ACL or anything too severe but I think I’ve got a little meniscus tear,” McDonald told SEN Mornings.
“I’ll meet the surgeon but it will probably require some surgery so it might be tough playing again this year but it could be a lot worse so good news, I think, in totality.”
During the game, McDonald was unsure of whether he suffered an ACL injury or not, but knew something wasn’t right.
“It just felt like something clunked and I had something stuck in the joint so I think that might be a bit of meniscus that’s sitting in there that’s torn off or something like that,” he said.
“We thought it might’ve been a bit of chipped bone which would’ve been a better result but that’s it doesn’t look like that’s the case.”
The Demons will aim for back-to-back wins when they take on the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.