WEST Coast rookie Simon Tunbridge could turn to non-traditional surgery on his injured knee in a bid to return to the field for a potentially make-or-break 2017 campaign. 

Tunbridge received the worst possible news after he fell awkwardly in an innocuous incident at training on Monday and instantly grabbed for his left knee, with scans confirming the 23-year-old ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament.

A full knee reconstruction would sideline the half-forward for up to 12 months, but West Coast might buck the trend and put a player through LARS surgery for the first time in club history. 

Tunbridge is facing a crucial season after being cut from the rookie list and redrafted after playing three games this year.

"He is a rookie and it is a pretty important year for him (coming up), so we are going to have our doctors give us some recommendations over the next couple of days," football manager Craig Vozzo told The West Australian. 

"There will be three possibilities, the traditional knee reconstruction which means out for 10 to 12 months, the LARS which is a three-to-four-month recovery, or there is a hybrid LARS. We will have a look at that, which is probably five-to-six months. 

"With Simon we will seriously consider the different LARS options given his personal circumstances." 

Tunbridge has battled a series of injuries which have stalled his progress, with shoulder and ankle complaints all-but wiping out his 2015 campaign. 

But the Eagles have continued to stand by the powerful and athletic West Australian, who has managed only 10 senior games since he joined West Coast for the 2012 season. 

"He has never had a really good run at it and he has done a good preparation through the off-season and he was in really good nick," Vozzo said. 

"It is really disappointing for him." 

The Eagles have had an unlucky run with knee injuries in recent times, with star ruckman Nic Naitanui (ACL) set to miss almost all of 2017 and sidekick Scott Lycett (PCL) racing the clock for round one.

Key defender Eric Mackenzie missed the entire 2015 season when his knee buckled in pre-season, while fellow backman Mitch Brown, since delisted, went down a few weeks later with a ruptured ACL in round one.