West Coast ruck Alicia Janz will miss the club’s inaugural AFLW season due to a knee injury.

The 29-year-old underwent surgery to repair the meniscus in her right knee following an incident in the WAFLW earlier this year and will not be available for the Eagles’ 2020 campaign after undergoing a second procedure last week.

Eagles head of female football Adam Selwood said Janz – who was last week voted into the team’s leadership group – would still play a big role throughout the club’s maiden AFLW campaign.

“For Alicia’s ongoing wellbeing on and off the field, we think the best thing to do is to rule her out for the upcoming AFLW season and focus on making sure that her knee is completely repaired,” Selwood said.

“We think by taking the pressure off Alicia and investing in her body, she’s going to be a better player when she comes back.

“As disappointing as it is for Alicia, she will still play a massive role leadership-wise in 2020.

“We’ll be leaning on her to maintain standards in the rehabilitation group by keeping everyone focused and offering support where needed.

“The club will tailor an individual plan that will help Alicia improve her ruck craft and set her up for a big 2021 campaign.”