Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge confirms that Cody Weightman has been ruled out for the year.
Weightman has not played at all in 2025, undergoing surgery in February for the rare congenital knee issue, bipartite patella, which is caused by having a false joint within his kneecap.
"We won't get 'Flea' Weightman back now this year, we've just got to get used to that," Beveridge said.
"Now he's processed the fact he's not going to play, he's not relieved, because he'd love to play, but he's OK, got peace of mind. Now he knows what he can do in the meantime. He'll probably have another surgery between now and the end of the year, that'll happen in the not-so-distant future.
"But as you'd expect, he's such a great human being, he wants to know what his role is off-field, he wants to know how he can help. So, we've got to find something for him."