ESSENDON ruck Nick Bryan will miss the rest of the season after scans confirmed a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.
Bryan suffered the injury during the first quarter of the Bombers' 39-point win over Melbourne on Saturday night.
It's a cruel blow for the 23-year-old, who had just cemented his spot in the Essendon side.
"This is obviously a disappointing setback for Nick, who'd been in good form for us," Essendon general manager of AFL Daniel McPherson said.
"While it's frustrating for him given how hard he's worked to earn consistent opportunities at senior level, we have no doubt that Nick will attack his rehab just as strongly and put himself in a great position to return in good shape next season.
"From a team perspective, we'll wrap our arms around Nick and support him through this period."
Drafted in 2019, Bryan had played just 19 games heading into this year, but had featured in all four outings in 2025.
Bryan is the second Bomber to suffer an ACL injury in the past month, with forward Tom Edwards suffering the same injury at training late last month.
The Bombers are 2-2 after a strong win over the Demons in Gather Round.
Essendon can lean on Sam Draper to shoulder more of the ruck load and bring in Peter Wright, who has just returned from an ankle injury, to support, or use Harrison Jones as the back-up and go smaller up forward.
Veteran Todd Goldstein is also available should the Bombers want Draper to continue playing mostly as a forward.
