Western Bulldogs star Bailey Smith's 2024 campaign appears to be over before it started following news he has ruptured his ACL.
The 23-year-old went down with what looked to be a serious knee injury during training on Wednesday, with scans later confirming the worst.
Smith is likely to miss the entire football season in a devastating blow for the Dogs.
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Western Bulldogs football boss Chris Grant confirmed the news on Wednesday afternoon.
“We’re all extremely disappointed for Bailey, and empathise with him greatly,” Grant said.
“The entire club will rally around him during this difficult time, as he begins his rehab journey.”
Smith has played 103 senior matches for the Dogs since being selected with the seventh pick in the 2018 Draft.
Bailey Smith contract
The talented Victorian in contracted through to the end of next season but was linked with a potential move away from the club during the recent trade period.
While Smith remained at the club in the end, his future will no doubt be a hot topic as he looks to return, most likely in 2025.
According to Herald Sun's Jon Ralph in October, Smith was looking likely to depart at the end of next season.
Smith had been linked with a move to Geelong and Hawthorn, while Collingwood were believed to have developed an interest.
"The chances of him moving on seem to be about 80 per cent," Ralph wrote.
"So the onus is on Smith to work his butt off to improve his kicking and on-ball craft so (coach) Luke Beveridge simply has to give him more centre bounce opportunities.
"Then he can either stay on a significant deal or explore the market at the end of 2024.
"This year his lack of impact meant Beveridge wasn’t proved wrong by pushing him to half forward."
Smith had made the perfect start to pre-season late last month, leading his teammates home in the 2km time trial.