Melbourne forward Tom McDonald is likely to miss the rest of the season after scans confirmed he had torn his meniscus in his knee.

McDonald was relieved to have avoided a torn anterior cruciate ligament which would have put him out for twelve months.

The injury, which will require arthrosopic surgery, is likely to sideline him for most if not all of the remainder of 2019.

Doctors on match day had suspected a meniscus tear and were confident McDonald had not torn his ACL.