FORMER first-round pick Taj Hotton has suffered another major injury setback, with the young Tiger to be sidelined for up to four months due to a hip injury.

Hotton missed the bulk of his debut season due to an ACL injury suffered in his draft year, but played the final seven games of 2025 before taking part in last week's match simulation against Essendon.

Following the hit-out against the Bombers, Richmond has discovered bone stress in his hip, ruling him out for the first half of the season.

"We anticipate that it will be approximately six to eight weeks before he is back running and possibly four months before he is available for selection," Tigers high performance boss Ben Serpell said.

The 19-year-old's full return to play timeline will become clearer in the coming weeks.

"Taj has done some really strong conditioning over both the off-season and the pre-season, and we were really pleased with how he was placed for this season," Sherpell said.

"We know his professionalism will continue across this rehabilitation phase, and we will support him through that."

Hotton was taken at pick 12 in the 2024 Telstra AFL Draft.