Essendon defender Tayte Pears is set to miss the remainder of the AFL season and will have a life-long reminder of the injury that could have ended his playing career.

The 20-year-old suffered damage to his pancreas when he was kneed in the stomach as he clashed with Hawthorn's Shaun Burgoyne during the first quarter of their Friday night match.

Pears completed the match but felt abdominal pain following the loss and alerted club doctors of his worsening condition at Saturday's recovery session.

He was rushed to hospital and had surgery later that day, which left him with a 25cm scar which stretches from above his belly button to his sternum.

The surgery revealed his pancreas was bruised and had bled but not ruptured as first thought.

The young West Australian has been moved out of intensive care but will remain at the Epworth Hospital for another week.

Bruce Reid, who has been the club doctor for 28 years, said it was potentially one of the most serious injuries he had seen.

"It was pretty serious but Tayte's fortunately now back in the ward so that's fantastic," Reid said.

"It was a big two-and-a-half hour operation but no split of the pancreas, that means he'll make a full recovery."

Reid said the injury was similar to North Melbourne's Leigh Colbert, in 2003, although the Kangaroo's pancreas was actually torn.

He missed two months of football.

Reid explained the danger of a leaking pancreas was that the digestive juices it produces would digest the stomach, as they normally do in the bowel.

"That's the real danger ... we were lucky that it was severely bruised and a bleed."

Reid said Pears could possibly return this season if the Bombers made the finals.

His pancreas should be fully healed in two weeks but Pears would be unable to train for six weeks while the scar healed.

"The biggest problem is that they've got to cut right up the middle so that wound's going to take six weeks to really get strong," Reid said.

"He's not allowed to do much for that time so he's going to lose fitness and he'll then need three or four weeks to get fit so he could possibly play in eight or 10.

"If the season's over because we perform badly ... it's up to the coach whether we rest him."

Pears took the competition by storm last year, placing third in the AFL's Rising Star competition.

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