Vandenberg injured his right shoulder during the third quarter of the Box Hill Hawks v Williamstown match on Saturday.
He today saw a specialist who confirmed a grade 3 rupture of the ligaments in his AC joint.
General Manager Football Operations Mark Evans said while this injury was another setback to Vandenberg's season, he was confident the captain would return to play football in July.
"This is good news for Richie,” he said.
"This surgery will allow him to return to training sooner and guarantees a return to football with a stronger shoulder joint.
"Richie will return to running and shoulder strengthening work within two weeks after the operation and should return to competitive training within a month from that point.”
The Hawthorn captaincy will continue to be rotated between vice-captains Sam Mitchell and Luke Hodge.
