Essendon captain James Hird had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee this morning. The routine operation took about 30 minutes. ""He has had this done every few years since he fractured his knee cap when he was 18. He just gets a bit of wear and tear around that area,"" Essendon communications manager Simon Matthews said. The Essendon captain is one of a number of players who will have minor post-season surgery.

""Obviously you want to get the post-season surgery out of the way as quickly as possible. James will certainly be okay to resume when our pre-season starts,"" Matthews said.