North Melbourne Tasmanian Kangaroo and versatile forward, Maddison Smith, will begin rehab this week after injuring her right knee.

Smith dislocated her right patella during the first week back at training.

“Maddy is as tough as they come and while this is terribly disappointing for her and the team, we know that she’ll put everything into her rehab and will make a full recovery,” North head of football operations Laura Kane said.

Team doctors anticipate the recovery period to take approximately eight weeks.

“We hope to have Maddy back by about Round 6, all things going well,” Kane added.

Smith joined the Kangaroos as an open-age signing after she was unearthed through North’s talent search across Tasmania in 2018.

After catching the eyes of recruiters, Smith went on to kick nine goals in her first Tasmanian State League Women’s (TSLW) game for Clarence and subsequently won the league’s best and fairest.