Richmond captain Trent Cotchin has provided encouragement to young teammate Nathan Drummond, who suffered a serious knee injury on senior debut for the Tigers in last Friday night’s loss to Melbourne at the MCG.

Drummond landed awkwardly late in the second quarter of the match and was stretchered off the field.

Subsequent scans confirmed that the talented 20-year-old had ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and, as a result, he will be sidelined for the rest of the 2015 season.

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“It’s horrible.  To see a kid who’s worked really hard, he’s had his injuries in the past, but to come in, play a quarter and a half of footy and do a serious injury, where he’s going to miss a fair chunk of footy, is disappointing,” Cotchin said.

“We’ve just got to help him find the positives in having an injury at such a young age, and the lesson you can learn from that.  There’ve been a number of guys who have been through it.  

“He’ll have a lot of support from us as a group, and be given every opportunity to get it right . . .

“The game’s tough, and you want to be playing every week, so the mental challenge is there as well.”