Melbourne forward Jesse Hogan has been diagnosed with testicular cancer.
Hogan has been given indefinite leave from the football club and he will have surgery later this week.
The 22-year-old missed a match a fortnight ago due to the passing of his father, Tony, who was suffering from cancer.
Melbourne released a statement on Tuesday morning and said Hogan had an ultrasound late last week that detected a suggestion of a seminoma in the testicle, which is a type of cancer.
The Demons have reiterated that it was a very early detection, and Hogan is expected to make a full recovery.
“The Club’s collective heart is with Jesse Hogan. This is clearly a very difficult time for Jesse and his health and wellbeing is the number one priority for us," Melbourne General Manager of Football Josh Mahoney told the club's website.
“We informed the players of this on Friday and respected Jesse’s wishes to keep this information private up until this point.
“Jesse will obviously miss a period of football due to this surgery but we expect him to make a full recovery and return to AFL in the short-term future."
