Essendon best and fairest winner Devon Smith may require knee surgery, which could sideline the Bomber for up to two months.
Smith is expecting to hear from a specialist on Wednesday after experiencing what Bombers performance manager Justin Crow described as “three sharp episodes in his knee”, following the Bombers' narrow loss to Sydney on Friday night.
Speaking to reporters, Essendon coach John Worsfold revealed that it could be a number of weeks on the pine for the 25-year-old, who has a history of troublesome knee issues over the past two years.
“He had a new incident on Friday night with that knee,” Worsfold said.
“Investigations into that this week, they’ve identified what problem is but it may require surgery to correct.
“Knee surgery of that type would be six to eight weeks before he could play.”
Smith's potential absence adds to the Bombers' injury woes, with the club confirming on Monday that dynamic forward Orazio Fantasia is set for at least two weeks on the sidelines as he nurses a quad injury.
Fantasia played his first game back against the Swans, having missed the two previous games with illness.
