GIANTS vice-captain Tom Scully has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a knee injury.

The 23 year-old will undergo surgery on his lateral ligament next week and will miss the last five games of the 2014 season.

Scully has had a consistent season averaging 19 disposals in his 15 matches and being an important part of the GIANTS young midfield.

GIANTS General Manager Football Graeme Allan said: “While we obviously would have liked Tom to play the rest of the season the medical advice is for him to undergo surgery now and the welfare of the player must always come first. 

"We expect Tom to be ready to resume training for the pre-season later in the year.”

Midfielder Tim Golds will replace Scully in the GIANTS side and will play his first AFL match of the season against Richmond at the MCG on Saturday.

Scully joins Jeremy Cameron (ankle) Tim Mohr (knee) Stephen Coniglio (broken thumb) Lachie Whitfield (shoulder and ankle) Aidan Corr (shoulder) and Nick Haynes (ankle) on the sidelines for the remainder of the season.