MELBOURNE is hopeful a broken collarbone won't mean the end of star foward Jesse Hogan's season.

Hogan was collected by a Luke McDonald bump in the third quarter and came straight off the ground before heading down to the changerooms clutching his left arm.

Coach Simon Goodwin confirmed after the four-point loss to North at Blundstone Arena that the forward had broken his collarbone, but expressed hope that it was not the end of Hogan's season.

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"He’ll fly back tonight and have some surgery tomorrow, so that’s disappointing for Jesse," Goodwin said.

"We’ll rehab him as quick as we can, have the operation and get him back as quick as we can.

"Obviously we’ll be guided by our doctors and the surgeon, so we’ll wait and get all the information, but I wouldn’t be saying it’s season-ending, that’s for sure."

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The Demon key forward has endured an interrupted 2017, playing just eight games having missed a large chunk of the year after surgery due to a diagnosis of testicular cancer in May.

"He’s in a fair bit of pain first and foremost, so he’s disappointed, but he’s quite upbeat. (He) wants to get it done and get back engaging with the teammates and training as quick as he can," Goodwin said.



"He knows there’s a lot to play for for the remainder of the year and really wants to be part of it."

The Roos have an injury concern of their own with veteran Jarrad Waite finishing the game early after suffering a calf strain.

"It is a calf so the medical team felt confident enough to have a go at it, to put him back on and compress the calf and have a go but Waitey didn’t feel comfortable," North Melbourne coach Brad Scott said.

"We’ll assess the extent of the damage but hopefully it’s not too bad. Clearly he’s an important player for us so we’d love him back."