Taylor Hine has received a blow on the eve of the season, with news he will require surgery after injuring his knee in Werribee’s practice match last Saturday.

The 22-year old will undergo a minor arthroscope after experiencing swelling and some pain in his right knee after a collision.

“Taylor landed awkwardly in a contest and thought he pulled up okay, but the day after, it swelled up and he was a bit sore, so on examination we decided to send him in for a scan,” Football Director Geoff Walsh told NMFC.com.au.

“The scans revealed a slight disruption there, so the medical team decided it would be best to do the minor procedure and get it out the way now so that within two weeks or so, he’ll be back up and running.”

The defender won’t be available to play for at least the first two rounds.

“Hopefully he’ll resume training in a few short weeks and he won’t have missed too much conditioning in that time so he’ll be available to play soon after that,” Walsh added.

“Thankfully, it’s just a minor setback, that’s the main thing.”