North Melbourne forward Jarrad Waite is set to miss over a month of football due to an injury in the AC joint of his left shoulder.
The loss of Waite only adds to the pain of North Melbourne's weekend, after being beaten by West Coast by 43 points on Sunday.
"Unfortunately Jarrad had scans this morning and they have shown that he will require surgery on his left shoulder this week," Roos' general manager of football, Cameron Joyce, told the club's website.
“We anticipate that he will be out for about four to six weeks. We’re hopeful to have him available for selection sooner rather than later.
“While we are obviously disappointed to see Jarrad sidelined, we had a number of really strong performances from our forwards in Werribee’s VFL practice match on Saturday afternoon.
“There are plenty of players ready to come in and make that position their own.”
The news comes after Waite's 2016 season was also hampered by injury.
The loss of the key-forward makes North's upcoming month even harder than it already was.
Their next four games include match-ups against Geelong, GWS, and the Western Bulldogs.
It is likely Majak Daw will be Waite's direct replacement for the round two clash against the Cats.