North Melbourne is aiming to have Kyron Hayden back for the early stages of the home and away season after the 18-year-old underwent shoulder surgery to repair his AC joint on Monday. 

North was aware Hayden, the club's third pick (#62) in the 2017 National Draft, had carried a shoulder injury through the past year and once he arrived at Arden St., club medical staff thoroughly tested his functionality and opted to have it repaired. 

"It's an injury he's been managing for quite a while. We sought two opinions and both specialists advised the best course of action for Kyron was surgery," GM Football Cameron Joyce said.

"At this stage he's looking at between four to five months on the sidelines which has him coming back in late March or early April, just after the start of the season."

Encouragingly, Joyce believes Hayden's mature body should hold him in good stead during his rehabilitation.

"Kyron has spent a lot of time in the gym over the past few years and has an AFL-ready body which he will be able to use to his advantage," Joyce said.

"At that age, many players don't have the level of muscle development Kyron has and an injury like this can be a much bigger setback. But for Kyron, we see him coming back very quickly from this and believe he has an extremely bright future at North."