ESSENDON ruckman David Hille will miss the rest of the season after injuring his knee during his side’s sensational win over Collingwood on Anzac Day.

Hille's left knee buckled under him as he jumped for a high pass in the second minute of the match. He will undergo a full knee reconstruction after scans confirmed he had ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament.
 
"He will have an operation soon and will begin his rehabiliation immediately after that," Football operations manager Paul Hamilton said.
 
"This is very disappointing for David, the club and our supporters because he is one of our strong leaders on and off the field and we are going to miss him.
 
"We now need some young players to step up and this has been a focus of ours this season – we expect our young players to fill the gap if something like this occurs."

After Saturday's match, coach Matthew Knights said the news would be a damaging blow to the club.

"I was really devastated, because David is an outstanding person," Knights said.

"Being in the prime of his career he is a huge player for us, so it was always going to be a big time blow. Thankfully our players adjusted beautifully.

"Patrick [Ryder] went into the ruck and was able to play virtually the rest of the game in the ruck."

Ryder, a pinch-hitting option in the ruck to this point in his career, earned the Anzac Medal for his magnificent display in Hille's absence. Knights forecast a full-time move into the centre square for him, but agreed he will need help.

"Some of the really good teams have got two really big strong ruckman and it will be difficult to expect that [a lone hand every week] from Patrick," he said.

"We can't expect Patrick, who is still maturing in terms of kilograms, to do the whole load so we're going to have to bring Tom Bellchambers in, I would have thought, to assist in that situation."