Luckless Carlton ruckman Matthew Kreuzer will miss four months after fracturing his foot in the AFL season-opener against Richmond.

Injury-plagued for much of his 12-season career, the veteran went down during the first quarter at the MCG on Thursday night as the Tigers cruised to a 24-point victory.

Kreuzer, 30, will undergo surgery next week as he attempts to return during the shortened 17-round season.

“Matthew has fractured the fifth metatarsal of his foot,” Carlton’s high performance director Andrew Russell said.

“While this is a disappointing start to the season for him, we have every confidence this course of action will allow him to recover fully.”

Key forward Charlie Curnow had surgery this week to take out wires in his knee to help fix a broken patella – suffered last year when he slipped on some tiles.

Russell didn’t provide an update on when Curnow could return, but Carlton football boss Brad Lloyd said last month that the 23-year-old might not be available until mid-season.