The career of Geelong's All-Australian defender Matthew Egan appears to be over following the latest prognosis on his injured foot.

The 25-year-old is set to quit after being told by a Sydney specialist he could risk permanent damage if he were to play on.

Egan broke a navicular bone in his foot in the final home-and-away round of 2007 against Brisbane, missing the club's premiership, and has not played since.

He has undergone surgery several times but the injury is still constricting his movement.

Egan has been told of the potential of serious problems if he attempts to play on and extend his 59-game career.

Geelong have virtually admitted that the backman's career was at an end.

Cats football manager Neil Balme said Egan, who is contracted for next season, would now have to consider his options.

"Does he want to keep the dream alive or does he want to accept that he needs to do something to make sure that the rest of his life is fairly normal?" Balme told afl.com.au.

"That's probably over-dramatising it a little bit, but I think that's probably where he is over the next couple of weeks.

"I think what we're looking at is two things.

"One is just being a citizen and being alive and wandering around and doing all the things that he might do with kids in the future etc, and the other is actually playing AFL footy - and I think that's the challenge.

"I think they're saying that he might not be able to get back to a position where he can do that justice.

"I think maybe it's time to consider whether he does that or whether he just makes sure he looks after himself for a normal life, and I think that's probably part of the decision-making that will be in front of him."

Balme said Egan would have to shortly come to terms with the latest diagnosis which means his AFL career is almost certainly over.

"He's a young man and [should] have a lot of footy in front of him and he's playing in a great team, so he'll be bitterly disappointed if he can't go on," he said.

"He said it really hadn't hit him as yet, but I think the fact that he's missed a full season, he's probably had enough time to think 'maybe I'm not going to play again', so I think that's probably been in his mind a bit.

"But it will be a shock and I'm sure over the next couple of days it will probably hit him and he'll be a bit emotional about it.

"Again, we haven't completely given up on it, but if you were betting on it you'd say that he's not going to be able to get up."

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