Essendon will be without Leroy Jetta for the start of the 2010 AFL season after news was revealed that he will have surgery on Tuesday to repair an injured thumb.

Jetta dislocated a thumb during the VFL Practice Match between Bendigo & Coburg at Craigieburn on Friday.

The 21-year-old midfielder is expected to miss 4-6 weeks with the injury.

“It is disappointing for Leroy because he has had his best ever pre-season and unfortunately it is going to keep him out for a number of weeks,” Essendon’s general manager of football operations Paul Hamilton said. “He will be able to keep his fitness up, which you can’t do with a leg injury, so we are lucky from that perspective. It is most disappointing from the perspective that he is a player that knows this is an important year for him and he wanted to get off to a good start and unfortunately it hasn’t happened for him.”