Essendon ruckman Tom Bellchambers will undergo surgery on his injured ankle, sidelining him for at least three months.

It was decided that Bellchambers required the operation to mend damaged ligaments after consultation with a specialist.

Senior coach Mark Thompson said the surgery was an unfortunate setback.

“To lose a player of Tom’s ability for that amount of time is not ideal, but we have to look at the positives and Tommy is a resilient character,” Thompson said

“He’ll have the full support of the fitness and medical team to help him get back out playing as soon as possible.”

“We have a number of quality players that can play in the ruck including Paddy Ryder and Joe Daniher, and we picked up Fraser Thurlow in the rookie draft over the summer.”

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