JOEL Smith will miss the rest of the season with a knee injury after he injured it playing for Casey Demons against Sandringham at Trevor Barker Oval on Saturday.

General manager of football operations Josh Mahoney confirmed that Smith would miss the rest of 2017, but his injury wasn’t as bad as first thought.

“Joel Smith landed awkwardly after a marking contest on the weekend playing for Casey and left the ground on a stretcher,” he said.

“Scans today (Monday) have shown a crack in his tibia bone. A decision will be made this week regarding the need for surgery, nevertheless he will not play again this season.

“This injury generally takes approximately eight to 10 weeks to heal and Joel will be fully recovered at the beginning of pre-season.

“Joel has had a frustrating year with injury, and as disappointed as we are with his season being over, there were initial fears of even more damage being done to the knee, which would have affected next year.”

After impressing in the pre-season, Smith made his AFL debut in round one this year against St Kilda at Etihad Stadium.

He suffered a shoulder injury against the Saints and missed the next 13 weeks, before he returned to the VFL.

After one match with Casey, Smith returned to the AFL and played two games for Melbourne, before he was an emergency and returned for Casey in round 18.

He then missed last round with a hip injury, before coming back on the weekend, where he suffered his latest setback.

Despite his frustrating season with injury, Smith is highly-rated at the club and looms an important player in the coming seasons with his athletic ability a feature of his game.