Fremantle midfielder Stephanie Cain will miss the remainder of the AFLW season after scans confirmed she has ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in her left knee.

Cain suffered the injury in the opening minutes of Sunday’s 16-point win over Geelong at Fremantle Oval.

She was the second player to suffer an ACL tear in round one, with St Kilda forward Nadia von Bertouch also ruled out for the season.

Fremantle’s AFLW high performance manager Kate Starre said Cain will undergo surgery in the coming week.

“It’s heartbreaking to have an injury to that extent and to have another ACL,” Starre said.

“We’ll go through the rehab process and get her up and about as soon as we can.”

“We’ve seen with the ACL injuries that we’ve had so far that the girls have all responded so well to their rehab programs.

“Steph will be no different, she’ll be up and about as soon as possible.

“We know she is professional and diligent in the way she trains and prepares and will do everything required to prepare for the 2021 AFLW season.”

Fremantle will start as hot favourites when they take on West Coast in the first ever AFLW western derby on Saturday.

A crowd in excess of 30,000 is expected to attend the match at Optus Stadium.