Jurrah injured the joint after falling awkwardly in the Demons' narrow pre-season loss to Adelaide in their NAB Challenge clash at the weekend, but the club has had to wait on scans to learn the full extent of the damage to the right shoulder.
Melbourne received the worst possible news on Tuesday when it learned Jurrah would require surgery to reconstruct the shoulder he dislocated at Elizabeth Oval.
Jurrah's injury comes on top of an AC joint injury to defender Daniel Bell. He will be sidelined for up to eight weeks after requiring surgery on his left shoulder following an incident in the same match.
Demons' general manager of football Chris Connolly said Jurrah wouldn't be available until the second half of the home and away season.
"This is disappointing news to learn of the severity of Liam's injury," Connolly said.
"Liam met with the surgeon this afternoon, and he'll have the operation to reconstruct his right shoulder on Wednesday. At this stage, he will miss approximately 16 weeks of football.
"As a club, we will work closely with Liam in what will be a difficult time throughout his rehabilitation. We will aim to get him back playing football during the second half of the season."
Jurrah, who was the first selection in the 2009 NAB AFL Pre-season Draft, burst onto the AFL scene after debuting in round 12 against Essendon.
He booted 20 goals from nine matches in his debut season, kicking four goals on two occasions.
