Luckless Geelong midfielder George Horlin-Smith will spend at least two months on the AFL sidelines after injuring his knee at training.

Although the 23-year-old will not require surgery on the medial ligament strain, he will still be out of action for 6-8 weeks.

“Unfortunately for George he injured his knee at training earlier this week, it was a simple slip in the middle of a training drill,” Geelong’s general manager of football Steve Hocking said in a statement.

“We were awaiting scan results yesterday, now we know the extent of the injury, George will begin a rehab program once the pain in his knee has subsided.”

Despite a run of excellent early-season form in the VFL, Horlin-Smith had to wait until round nine before forcing his way into the Cats’ senior lineup.

That loss to Collingwood was his only AFL game to date this year.