Former AFL goal-kicking star Brendan Fevola has all but revealed his retirement from local football after a stellar career.
Fevola hurt his knee in the annual AFL Legends Game, revealing in August that he tore his MCL, meniscus, PCL and shattered his kneecap.
The initial diagnosis was a partially torn quad tendon, but the scans confirmed something more sinister.
Over two months later, Fevola has put a line through his playing career.
“Last Friday I got an MRI on my knee… the one that Nick ruined has already been done, and the surgeon has looked at it, so this is the right knee," he said on The Fox's Fifi, Fev & Nick.
"I'm seeing the surgeon today, but I'm actually really worried. It's a job that's unfixable. My knee has severe arthritis, and it's bone-on-bone, and that is the end.
“As a 45-year-old, the only thing that can help me is a knee replacement, a new knee. It'll be bionic, Fev. It's severe arthritis… I have old man knee at 45! You see me walking around here.
“I looked over at Alex and the girls and I said, ‘I'm finished footy.' And when I've said I've retired before, I knew I'd be coming back. I physically can't.”
“Well, I physically can't. What's the surgeon going to do? I'm 45!”
Fevola joined the local ranks after 12 seasons for Carlton and Brisbane, slotting 623 goals in 204 games. He earned three All-Australians, two Coleman Medals and was the Blues' seven-time leading goal-kicker.
He most recently played for East Sunbury and helped turn the fortunes around for Dandenong Magpies and Eley Park Sharks via the Fox's initiative to support local footy clubs with his football services.
Fevola also works at Richmond for the AFLW side, taking care of the forwards as an assistant coach.
