Hawthorn have suffered a massive blow with gun AFL defender James Sicily suffering a season-ending ACL rupture.

Sicily was helped from the field with the knee injury late in Sunday night’s loss to West Coast and scans confirmed the 25-year-old will be sidelined for close to a year.

“This is obviously devastating for ‘Sis’, his teammates and the wider Hawthorn family,” Hawthorn general manager of football Graham Wright said.

“He has developed into a leader both on and off field over the last few years, and was having an excellent year personally this season.

“He is a man of great resilience though and we have full faith he will be diligent in his recovery over the next 12 months.”

Sicily’s season-ending injury is a further blow to the struggling Hawks, who sit 16th on the ladder with just four wins from 11 games.

The defender had been enjoying another stellar season for the Hawks down back, averaging 17.8 disposals and 5.6 marks across 11 games.

Sicily has played 93 games for Hawthorn since his debut in 2015.