Richmond young gun Jack Higgins will undergo further surgery on his brain later this month, following bleeding on the brain after a VFL match back in July.
According to AFL.com.au, Higgins will need six months recovery after the surgery, and will only be allowed to return to football late next year.
Tigers coach Damien Hardwick told the players on Tuesday.
"No one is underestimating how uncomfortable this is for the poor kid, and while they were hoping for a different procedure, that hasn't quite fixed everything," Richmond's general manager of football Neil Balme told AFL.com.au.
"The positive out of all this is that there is still the same expectation for him – that he will fully recover and return to football when he is ready.
"With brain surgery, no one can be certain with recovery timeframes.
"It is obviously very challenging, but again, the positives out of it are that once he gets through it, he will be as good as new."
Higgins has played 33 games for the Tigers over the past two seasons.
