Essendon ruckman David Hille will miss the rest of the AFL season after scans confirmed the Bombers' worst fears.

Hille was injured early in the opening quarter of the Bombers' five-point Anzac Day win over Collingwood at the MCG, clutching his knee in agony after he jumped to grab a high pass.

The Bombers confirmed on Sunday Hille had torn his anterior cruciate ligament and would undergo knee reconstruction.

"He will have an operation soon and will begin his rehabilitation immediately after that," Essendon football manager Paul Hamilton said.

"This is very disappointing for David because he is one of our strong leaders on and off the field and we are going to miss him.

"We now need some young players to step up and this has been a focus of ours this season - we expect our young players to fill the gap if something like this occurs." Hille, the club's reigning best and fairest, is Essendon's only seasoned ruckman and his loss creates a huge void in a side.

The Dons used regular defender Patrick Ryder in the ruck as a pinch-hitter to great effect in Saturday's win - Ryder winning the Anzac Medal for best-on-ground.

With No.2 ruckman Jason Laycock also out injured, the Dons look set to promote teenager Tom Bellchambers to replace Hille long-term.

Meanwhile, North Melbourne will find out on Monday the extent of an elbow injury to star forward Brent Harvey which could sideline him for up to three months.

Harvey dislocated his elbow in the first quarter of his side's shock 36-point loss to Richmond at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night when tackled by Tigers midfielder Daniel Jackson.

Kangaroos coach Dean Laidley had a grim prognosis post-match, rating Harvey's injury a six to 12-week proposition depending on the damage to ligaments around the elbow.

"He's in for a long stint on the sidelines ... if he's torn the ligaments it'll be at least 12 weeks. If the ligaments are still attached, it'll still be at least six to seven," Laidley said. Harvey had scans on Sunday, along with defender Lachlan Hansen who is likely to miss three to four weeks with a hamstring injury.

Hawthorn's horror run with injuries continued, with defender Clinton Young injuring a hamstring during the Hawks' 18-point win over West Coast in Launceston on Saturday.

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