Injured Western Bulldogs captain Robert Murphy says he is "heartbroken" as he contemplates his future.
Scans on Monday confirmed Murphy had ruptured his left anterior cruciate ligament, and he appears likely to have a traditional reconstruction.
Murphy revealed on Monday he had felt a "pop" in his knee when he turned awkwardly against Hawthorn on Sunday.
"I was as certain as you could be - I felt the pop. I have got a lot going through my mind at the moment. I want to take the next few days to make a considered decision," he said.
"I am just letting it all wash over me at the moment. It's been a pretty heartbreaking 24 hours."
A leading sports medicine specialist says Murphy would be advised to have a traditional knee reconstruction, not only to benefit his football career but also his long-term health.
He could opt for ligament augmentation reconstruction system (LARS) surgery, which uses a synthetic ligament to repair the torn tissue, but only if other cartilage and ligaments have not been damaged. If Murphy, 34 next month, was to have this surgery, he could be back on the field by the end of the season.
The other option is a traditional knee reconstruction, meaning he would miss the rest of the season but could be back running in time for pre-season training.
Rohan White, a former AFL club doctor, says the trend of clubs recently has been towards a traditional knee reconstruction.
"There will be a discussion around LARS. However, the trend back to traditional ACL reconstruction certainly has more of a groundswell," he said on Monday.
"If it is an ACL, you have to consider what other damage there is to the knee. If there is damage to the cartilage or damage to other ligaments, then usually a LARS reconstruction is not considered because you have to deal with the other complications which can take many months to heal, longer than the LARS takes in reconstructing the knee."
White said there was more than just Murphy's career to take into account.
"It's shown the biomechanics and the return to normal knee function is probably better with a standard knee reconstruction, using a hamstring or patella tendon grafts," he said.
"There is a much higher failure rate of LARS and that's why there is a lot of hesitation to just launch into a LARS procedure.
"With Bob, I don't think there was ever any discussion this was going to be his last season. I think for the longer term benefit of his knee, and I am not only talking about football potentially in 2017 but for the rest of his career as long as that may be and the rest of his life, a traditional ACL would probably be the better alternative. We have to think about Bob's knee when he is 50, not only when he is 34."
Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said on Monday he hoped Murphy could play on for another three years.
Murphy is set to join teammates Clay Smith and Roarke Smith recovering from a torn ACL. He had the same knee reconstructed in 2006 after he was tackled by Collingwood's Anthony Rocca.
He is off contract this year but his excellent form last year when he was named All-Australian captain, and again this year until Sunday's heart-breaking incident against Hawthorn, means he is a strong chance to be given a new deal.
Former Dogs captain Brad Johnson says there must not be a repeat of the mistakes made when another of their stars underwent major knee surgery in 2003, recalling what happened when Chris Grant's serious injury derailed their campaign.
"I go back to when Chris Grant did his knee ... it just had a huge affect on us as a club. I reckon Peter Rohde was coaching, 2004 or '05 or something like that. It just had a huge impact on us as a playing group, it flattened the group," Johnson said.
"We didn't really, I suppose, recover as a group for the remainder of that year."
Grant, too, was captain when he required a knee reconstruction, and the Dogs finished last in 2003.
"I think the club as a whole will learn from that. Granty is still involved at the Bulldogs and he'll certainly remind people that you can't let these things affect you as a playing group. There are certainly some people in the coaching staff that were a part of that group as well that will have that in the back of their minds," Johnson told Radio Sport National.
"Bob Murphy is a great spiritual leader on and off the field of the football club. Others now have to stand up in his absence and the good part about the Bulldogs at the moment, his position, they can fill that position quite comfortably."
All-Australian and best-and-fairest winner Easton Wood, who was named vice-captain this year, is expected to take the top role in Murphy's absence.
