Richmond young gun Jack Higgins is being treated in hospital for a brain bleed, the club has confirmed.
Higgins, who won the AFL's goal of the year award in 2018 in his debut season, played in the VFL against Werribee on Sunday.
Richmond said Higgins was in "good spirits" and the Tigers would provide more information when possible.
Tigers' general manager of football, Neil Balme, said Higgins had "a bit of a headache" following the game, which led a doctor to order scans.
"It turns out it was bleeding on the brain, which was totally unexpected for us," he said.
"There was no serious incident [with Higgins during the game] that we were concerned about.
"It [the diagnosis] is a worry, and concerning for us.
"The feedback is that it's not terribly dangerous, but obviously it's pretty serious and will need more tests — we'll find out [more] in the next couple of days."
Higgins burst onto the scene, kicking 15 goals in his first season including a three-goal haul against Melbourne in just his second game of senior football.
He then hit the headlines for a controversial score against the Magpies — where he stepped around the back of the goalpost and threw the ball up in the air to give himself the chance to kick it through — that earned him the goal of the year award.
The 20-year-old has struggled for form this year, and has not played in the Tigers' AFL side since the round 13 game against the Adelaide Crows.
"He [Higgins] is so committed to his footy that the fact he won't be able to play for a while, it won't be easy for him," Balme said.
"Hopefully it's not 'serious serious' and he can get over it and back into playing."
