MELBOURNE midfielder Brock McLean is putting on a brave face after announcing that his 2008 season was officially over.

McLean says after he has surgery to repair his injured ankle, he will be ready to start preseason training with the Dees.

"I should be right to go preseason," McLean said.

"From what the specialist was saying, for the first two weeks I've just got to put the foot up and basically not move at all and give it a chance to heal.

"Then after that two or three week period I think I've got one of those moonboots on and I'll hobble around in those for another three or four weeks."

McLean injured the ankle in Melbourne’s thrilling win over the Brisbane Lions on Sunday and is scheduled to have surgery on Friday.

"I had an X-ray and an MRI yesterday morning and sat down with the doc – there's a bit of bone-bruising at the back, but there's a fair bit of damage to a ligament at the front of the ankle which holds the tibia and fibula together,” he said on Tuesday.

"I'm no doctor, but that's what I could understand from what he was saying, so I've got to go in and have surgery on Friday.

"I'll have two screws inserted into the bone so I can bring the bone together and help the ligament heal."