Carlton co-captain Sam Docherty has suffered a ruptured ACL at pre-season training for the second year in a row.
Docherty missed the entire 2018 season after going down last November and Carlton have confirmed that the star half-back has suffered the same injury to the same knee.
The Club can confirm co-captain Sam Docherty has ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament during a training session on Monday morning.#BoundByBlue
— Carlton FC (@CarltonFC) December 10, 2018
The 25-year-old was taken from training on Monday and sent for scans following the innocuous incident.
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"It’s clearly a huge disappointment for Sam to experience such cruel luck, we are all feeling for him right now," Blues head of football Brad Lloyd told carltonfc.com.au.
"The way he tackled his rehab this year was simply incredible and he could have played at the end of last season before the decision was made to hold him back.
"If the last 12 months have shown anything, it’s that Sam is made of everything that is required to return to his elite best once again."
After impressing in a leadership capacity off-field while undertaking his rehab, Docherty was named co-captain alongside young midfielder Patrick Cripps, replacing Marc Murphy in the role.
The Blues will again be without one of their key players as they look to improve on their wooden spoon finish in 2018.
Docherty backed up his 2016 best and fairest with a second behind Marc Murphy in 2017, as well as a first All Australian selection, before his bad luck with injury began.
He has played 92 games in the AFL, 79 at Carlton since moving from Brisbane ahead of the 2014 season.
