Renee Saulitis will miss the entirety of AFLW Season 7 after scans revealed a partial ACL tear in her left knee.

The 20-year-old ruptured her cruciate ligament three weeks ago in the club’s unofficial scratch match against Carlton, with scans late last week confirming the extent of the damage.

Saulitis had been training and running prior to scans, which then determined surgery as the best course of action.

“We’re devastated for Renee, but she has our full support during this time,” Head of AFLW Tessie McManus said.

“These injuries are always a tough pill to swallow, especially on the eve of the season, but Renee’s resilience has been outstanding despite this.

“At this stage, we are likely to retain Renee on our primary playing list rather than move her to the inactive list.

“Renee will undergo surgery next week before commencing her rehabilitation at the Club."

In other injury news, recruit Grace Kelly will likely miss the first two weeks of the season with a quad strain, while Nat Exon is currently being managed for general soreness..

Meanwhile, midfielder Tyanna Smith has re-joined main training after rupturing her ACL last November, with a return towards the latter half of the year a possibility.

Injury List