COLLINGWOOD'S Canadian recruit Kendra Heil will miss the inaugural AFL Women's season after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee.
Recruited as a free agent last month, Heil suffered the injury in an innocuous training incident last Wednesday and will undergo surgery in the coming weeks.
It is the 28-year-old's second serious knee injury, having missed the 2016 VFL women's season after rupturing the ACL in her right knee.
Heil, a former rugby star, was born in Canada and first started playing Australian football in 2012.
She relocated to Australia in 2013 after being a standout performer in the Australian Football League of Ontario.
The Magpies said they would now work with the AFL to secure a replacement player.
"The injury news is disappointing for Kendra who was so excited to have the opportunity to play for Collingwood in the first national women's AFL competition," the Magpies' AFLW operations manager Meg Hutchins said.
"The club will support Kendra throughout her recovery, and knowing her hard-working attitude towards her training, I'm sure she'll be extremely diligent with her rehab.
"While we would have loved to see her on the ground, Kendra still has a lot to offer and will play an important part of Collingwood’s inaugural AFLW season off the ground."
Marquee signings Kiara Bowers (Fremantle) and Renee Forth (GWS) also suffered serious knee injuries in September and will miss the new eight-team AFL Women's competition, which starts in early February.
