St Kilda is confident emerging key defender Hugh Goddard will bounce back strongly from adversity after the 19-year-old ruptured his Achilles in Sunday's loss to Adelaide, sidelining him for up to the next 12 months.

In his first appearance for 2016, following eight games in the back end of his debut season, Goddard suffered the injury in an innocuous incident just before half-time.

Trailing Adelaide forward Josh Jenkins towards a contest, Goddard fell to the ground when he changed direction, bringing the game to a halt for several minutes as the Geelong Falcons product was placed on a stretcher before being wheeled off Adelaide Oval.

Saints GM of Football Performance Jamie Cox confirmed the highly rated teenager will undergo surgery later this week to repair his Achilles tendon, with his season coming to a premature end on a bitterly disappointing day for the club.

“It’s frustrating for Hughie. He’s a terrific young kid who’s fought really hard to get his spot back in the team,” Cox told reporters at a press conference at Linen House Centre on Tuesday morning.

“It’s disappointing for Hughie, I guess the only positive now is he’s such a young pro that he’s already got his head around what this requires to get back playing.

“We’ll put all the support around him that we can. He’s a very, very important player for our club.

“He’ll have surgery this week. It’s certainly season ending. These things can be a little bit inconsistent with how they rehab. It’s obviously in an area that takes a bit of time.”

Cox revealed Hawthorn champion Jarryd Roughead had already reached out to Goddard, with the four-time premiership star suffering the same injury in 2011, before returning to win another three flags.

“It’s a wonderful community the AFL community, he’s already got a text message via Nick Riewoldt from Jarryd Roughead who had a similar injury to sort of help out and hopefully encourage him on the way back. I know that’s given him a real boost as well,” Cox said.

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