Former Melbourne forward David Schwarz says Jonathon Patton can still have a long and successful league career despite facing a second knee reconstruction in as many years.
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Greater Western Sydney players were rallying around Patton on Monday after the former No.1 draft pick learnt he had re-injured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.
The injury has come at terrible time for Patton, 21, whose value on the market was set to soar as he came out of contract next year.
But Schwarz said it was not the end of the world for Patton no matter how painful the prospect of another 12 months on the sidelines might appear.
Schwarz endured three knee reconstructions during his career but recovered to play in a grand final and win a best and fairest with the Demons, though he was not the player he was before the injury.
"I played an extra 107 games after having 23 knee operations," Schwarz said.
"I was able to play a lot of footy, I was able to change my style. I went from being an agile Jeremy Cameron-type to more like a Jonathon Patton-style where I was big and bulky, stayed down and didn't jump as much.
"But what the injury does do is teach you resilience, teaches you character and that stuff but it takes away your flair."
Schwarz said Patton may have to trim some weight off his 103kg frame to lessen the pressure on his knees.
"I didn't do weights from 1995 onwards because every time I punched out weights I got too heavy," said Schwarz, who had his first reconstruction in 1995. "He might have to modify his training."
Heath Shaw said Patton, his housemate, was shattered on Sunday night.
"He was pretty upset," Shaw said. "And after the game when we got told, all the boys were just in silence because it's such a tough thing."
The Giants will strongly encourage Patton to have a traditional knee reconstruction rather than the revolutionary LARS method.
Shaw could find himself in the unfamiliar position of captaining the Giants this weekend in his first game against his former club Collingwood at Spotless Stadium on Saturday.
Coach Leon Cameron said co-captains Phil Davis and Callan Ward were both unlikely to play, while Shaw's fellow vice-captain Tom Scully's season is already over.
