PORT Adelaide defenders Jack Hombsch and Alipate Carlile have been ruled out for the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on Thursday.

Hombsch was operated on to repair a hip injury that has kept him sidelined since round 10.

The 23-year-old defender had the same surgery on the opposite hip in between seasons last year.

Port Adelaide high performance manager Darren Burgess said he expected the 23-year-old to return to full training before Christmas.

"Considering he’d need to spend some time in the SANFL even if he returned in the next few weeks, we’ve taken the view that surgery is in his best interest," Burgess said.

"He'll take about 16 weeks to recover."

Carlile played just two games this season before injuring his PCL. The club took a conservative approach in trying to manage the injury but the 29-year-old did not recover as quickly as hoped.

He will be sidelined for 12 weeks with Port Adelaide hopeful he'll join in pre-season training early.

Port Adelaide dropped out of the finals race last week when it lost to Greater Western Sydney.