Collingwood midfielder Jordan De Goey has been required to undergo surgery on his right shoulder, with the polarising Magpie sidelined until the new year.
The operation will see De Goey ruled out until at least January as his teammates continue pre-season training for the weeks ahead of Christmas.
De Goey suffered a shoulder injury in his side's qualifying final loss to Geelong in September, however showed no sign of slowing down as he went on to star as arguably Collingwood's best player in the finals.
However, the club confirmed on Monday that De Goey has battled a shoulder issue since the season ended, with Collingwood deciding to have the 26-year-old go under the knife.
โJordan had been managing that right shoulder towards the end of our campaign and while we have given it every opportunity to settle over the off season, after consulting with a specialist in recent days, it was determined a clean-up is the best course of action for him,โ Collingwood football boss Graham Wright said in a club statement.
โAt this stage, we expect Jordan to be back to full training by January.โ
The star Magpie recently expressed his desire to piece together a strong pre-season ahead of his ninth campaign in the league, with his sights set on winning a premiership with Collingwood.
De Goey has played 137 games in the black and white since making his AFL debut in 2015, with the midfield-forward hybrid seen as one of the Magpies' most important players ahead of the new year.
He re-signed with Collingwood at the end of September on a five-year deal following vast interest from rival clubs.
