Hawthorn premiership star Jarryd Roughead requires a knee reconstruction and is set to miss the first half of this year’s AFL season, the club has said.

The vice-captain, who got married on Saturday, had been managing his posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury throughout 2015 but was told surgery was now the best option.

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Hawthorn’s football operations manager Chris Fagan said Roughead would undergo surgery in the coming weeks.

“We found out this morning that Jarryd requires a PCL reconstruction, which means that he’s not going to be available to play until somewhere in the middle of the season,” Fagan said in a statement on the club’s website.

Roughead: skin cancer issue in 2015. Photo: Getty

“That’s a fair stint out, somewhere between four to five months.

“He’s actually had a PCL injury for a long time, but in the past if it’s got a little bit sore, he just has a day off and it clears up and he continues to train and play.

“He didn’t miss any games with it last year, he had a perfect pre-season up until Christmas time, and for some unknown reason the knee’s got sore just lately, and not recovering when we’ve given him a rest.”

Roughead had a skin cancer scare last year and had surgery to remove a melanoma from his bottom lip.

He managed to return to the field and take part in the Hawks’ premiership win, its third in a row.

“Rough’s had a few challenges in the last little while – this is just another one,” Fagan said.

“He’ll take that in his stride, and as he said to me the other day, he’ll be really fresh in the second half of the year and can’t wait for that to come around.”