Sydney Swans defender Nick Malceski will undergo LARS reconstruction surgery tomorrow, after injuring his right knee at training today.

It is the same knee Malceski injured in February 2008, when he became the first AFL player to undergo a LARS reconstruction.  He successfully returned to the field in round eight that year.

Malceski, 26, played all 24 games in 2010 and finished seventh in the Club Champion award.

Sydney Swans coach John Longmire said he was disappointed for Malceski but confident he could overcome this latest hurdle. 

“Mal has had a great preseason and this is certainly a setback for him, but he has gone through this before and come out of it well at the other end,” Longmire said.

“Mal is very professional, has a great work ethic and I’m sure he will leave no stone unturned in his rehabilitation.

“We’d love to see Mal come back as he did in 2008 and have a really positive impact on the side in the second half of the year,” he said.

Malceski, who becomes the second Swan this season to undergo LARS surgery, following young defender Campbell Heath, said he was staying positive.

“It’s obviously disappointing, but I know what I have ahead of me and I am really confident I can work my way back,” he said.     

“There’s a lot of excitement about the season ahead and I’m looking forward to getting back out there with boys as soon as I can,” Malceski said.

Club doctor Nathan Gibbs said he fully supported Malceski’s decision to undergo LARS for a second time.

“The option was available to us with this revision reconstruction, to use the conventional method or LARS surgery, and Nick was very keen to pursue the LARS surgery.

“The recovery time of LARS surgery is exceptional, at approximately 12 weeks,” Gibbs said.