The 23-year-old dislocated the tendon in his ankle during Fremantle’s round three loss to Hawthorn at the MCG.
Scans of the injury were reviewed last week by a Melbourne specialist, who advised the club’s medical staff to wait a further week to 10 days to allow the significant swelling in Walters’ ankle to subside before having further scans.
The second set of scans has been carried out and the images reviewed by the specialist, who advised that surgery was the preferred option for the player’s long-term health and well-being.
“There was a slight possibility that the injury would heal itself and Michael would not require surgery,” said general manager of football operations Chris Bond.
“Unfortunately, for Michael that is not the case and he will now undergo surgery later in the week.
“In the past he has shown great strength of character and great resilience, so we believe that with the appropriate recovery period and rehabilitation program, Michael will return to full training.
“At this stage an assessment of how many weeks Michael could miss will be carried out after his surgery and recovery phase are completed.”
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