The 2024 season of Western Bulldogs star Bailey Smith has come to a close before it had even begun, with the 23-year-old rupturing his ACL on Wednesday.
First reported by 7 News' Mitch Cleary on Wednesday afternoon, Smith is said to have sustained the injury during a club training session earlier in the day.
The Bulldogs have since added to earlier reports by way of an official statement, stating that scans conducted on Wednesday confirmed the worst.
“We're all extremely disappointed for Bailey, and empathise with him greatly,” Bulldogs' Executive Director of Football, Chris Grant said.
“The entire Club will rally around him during this difficult time, as he begins his rehab journey.”
2024 was poised to be a big year for the social media star, with Smith uncontracted at the Kennel beyond the end of the year and already fielding plenty of interest in the market.
Smith took to Instagram, laconically sharing "Ah well, she'll be right" on his story sent to more than 340 thousand followers.
With this just his sixth season as a Bulldog, Smith is not yet an eligible free agent.
In October, News Corp scribe Jon Ralph claimed Smith was rated an "80 per cent chance" to leave the Dogs during the 2024 off-season after already being linked with a move to Hawthorn this past off-season.
Smith commenced his career on Barkly Street after being selected with the 7th selection of the 2017 AFL Draft.
The Sandringham Dragons product has turned out for Luke Beveridge's side on 103 occasions, first donning the red, white and blue during the Bulldogs' Round 1 win over Sydney in 2019.
Between 2020 and 2023, Smith was voted into the AFL Player's Association's '22 Under 22' side at all four times of asking.