Western Bulldogs utility Laitham Vandermeer is set to go under the knife to repair a knee injury.
The Bulldogs said on Monday the Mooroopna product would need surgery for an ongoing meniscus injury.
The club could not confirm how many weeks the talented youngster would spend on the sidelines.
“Unfortunately we have tried a period of conservative management and Laitham has continued to suffer some catching in his knee from the cartilage damage,” Bulldogs’ head of sports medicine Chris Bell said.
“We have been required to resort to surgery to assist in his management. We’ll confirm his return to play plan following the surgery, in the next couple of days.”
Vandermeer has not played a senior game for the Dogs since round six.
His brilliant form in the opening rounds led to him signing a contract extension earlier this month.
In other news, Vandermeer and the rest of his Bulldogs teammates are currently in self-isolation after a club staff member attended a COVID-19 exposure site in Melbourne.
All players, football department staff and match-day staff have had coronavirus tests and are isolating until they receive a negative result.
The club expects to have test results returned by Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Clayton Oliver had the ball on a string in Melbourne's tense one-point loss to Adelaide at the weekend.
The Mooroopna export racked up a whopping 27 contested possessions — from 38 touches — three goals and 13 clearances in a best afield performance.
Oliver's outstanding effort was not enough for the Dees as they suffered their first loss of the season.
The Demons face off against Western Bulldogs in a hotly-anticipated top-of-the-table bout this Friday night in round 11 action.
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