Geelong's All Australian defender Matthew Egan has been ruled out for the entire 2008 AFL season due to complications with a serious foot injury.

Egan broke a bone in his right foot in the final round of the 2007 home and away season, ruling him out of the Cats' drought-breaking premiership.

He had resumed low impact training in recent weeks, but was sent for further scans by the club after suffering discomfort.

The specialist told Egan, 24, on Monday that he required further surgery and would be unable to resume training until early next year.

"This is obviously devastating for Matthew, his teammates and everyone associated with our team," Geelong's assistant general manager of football operations Steve Hocking said.

"Matthew is an incredibly mentally strong individual and we know that while he is down at the moment, he will overcome this setback and come back at his best in 2009."

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