MELBOURNE youngster Jimmy Toumpas has been diagnosed with acute appendicitis and will miss the next four to six weeks.
Toumpas played his most recent senior game against Port Adelaide in Alice Springs in round 11 when he came on as a substitute.
He has been struggling in the VFL since, battling for form and confidence at the lower level. He was operated on Friday night and missed last week's game against Richmond's VFL team.
The 20-year-old who grew up in South Australia has gone back across the border to recover with family for a few days.
Toumpas has made a slow start to his AFL career after being drafted with pick No. 4 in the 2012 NAB AFL Draft.
The midfielder signed a contract extension tying him to the club until the end of 2015 before he played a game. He has played just 18 games since making his debut in round one, 2013.
Unlucky midfielder Michael Evans will also miss the next four to six weeks after suffering a shoulder injury in the VFL on Saturday.
High performance manager Dave Misson said Evans was unlucky.
"It was the last 30 seconds of the game and he (Evans) had some impact from another player on the side and hurt his AC joint. It's a reasonable injury, so Michael would be probably four to six weeks, I reckon," Misson told melbournefc.com.au
The Demons are also hopeful Jesse Hogan's return is just a month away.
