Jake Lever is facing a second knee reconstruction after tearing his ACL against Bulldogs

MELBOURNE defender Jake Lever will miss the rest of the season after Melbourne confirmed on Sunday he suffered a torn ACL against the Bulldogs.

Jake Lever was helped from the field in the opening term.

MELBOURNE has suffered a bitter blow in its march towards a first finals campaign since 2006 with star recruit Jake Lever suffering a torn ACL in Saturday’s win over the Western Bulldogs.

Lever had to be helped from the ground during the first quarter after hurting his left knee in a seemingly innocuous incident while chasing an opponent.

The defender left Etihad Stadium for scans at AAMI Park and football manager Josh Mahoney confirmed on Sunday afternoon he will miss the rest of the season.

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“After finding his feet early on, Jake has displayed the type of form we recruited him for – he has been an integral part of our team’s recent winning form,” Mahoney said.

“Although we will be without Jake for the rest of the season, his absence creates an opportunity for another defender to come in to the team. We look forward to Jake returning fully fit for our 2019 season.”

Coach Simon Goodwin said post-match the news was deflating after another impressive win.

“It’s a suspected ACL so that’s really disappointing for Jake and obviously for the club,” Goodwin said.

“We just need to get some scans and some more information but at this stage it’s not looking great.”

Lever had a reconstruction on the same knee in late 2013, sidelining him for his entire under-18 draft year with TAC Cup club Calder Cannons.

Jake Lever was helped from the field in the opening term.

Despite the setback, Lever was drafted to Adelaide with Pick 14 in the 2014 draft before being traded to the Demons at the end of last year on a deal worth close to $800,000 a season.

“He’s obviously someone we care about deeply and he’s fitted into our group really well,” Goodwin said.

“It’s disappointing news for Jake. He’s invested a lot into this season.”

Melbourne had another injury concern out of Saturday’s match, with Jake Melksham hurting his right ankle in the opening term.

The forward came off for treatment from physios on multiple occasions but managed to play out the game.

Injuries aside, it was another positive outing for the Demons, who scored a sixth-straight win despite losing the clearance count 47-28.

Melbourne suspect Lever has torn his ACL. Picture: Getty

“It probably wasn’t the natural way that we win games of footy, to get beaten at clearance by 20,” Goodwin said.

“So we had to find a different way to win this week and to the boys’ credit we adapted very strongly. We were certainly very strong around the contested footy still so I was really pleased in the way we found a way to adapt and still get a really strong result. “

Goodwin said he while excitement might be building about his side’s prospects externally, his challenge was to keeping his players and the wider club focused on the here and now.

“We need to focus on is what’s right in front of us – that next contest, that next quarter, that next game,” he said.

“We want expectation and we know that our supporters are really excited about how the team’s performing and we can understand that.

“But it’s really important for our group and our footy club and our football department from coaches to players to support staff to understand that noise is just fake.”

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Originally published as Jake Lever is facing a second knee reconstruction after tearing his ACL against Bulldogs