Carlton forward Elijah Hollands has taken an indefinite leave of absence from AFL football on the eve of the Blues’ season-opener against Richmond.

Hollands, 22, made an emotional address to teammates on Tuesday morning, informing them he needs time away to tackle personal issues.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Elijah Hollands takes indefinite leave of absence.

There is no timeline on his return to playing availability.

Hollands recently engaged club welfare support to deal with his off-field situation and has made the call to step away, unable to currently deal with the rigours of AFL football. In his first year at the Blues in 2024, Hollands missed the start of the season while serving a two-match ban for cocaine possession dating back to an incident in October 2023.

He went on to play 20 matches for the remainder of the season and proved to be one of the most important Blues en route to a finals berth.

After arriving with the off-field indiscretion hanging over his head, Hollands was given a one-year contract before winning the trust of the club, penning a two-year extension in June.

He is expected to need a period of re-conditioning once he returns to full-time training before he is available again for AFL selection.

Hollands recently played a half in the Blues’ final pre-season match against GWS but sat out the match simulation portion of training on Sunday.

In a statement, Carlton praised Hollands for his “openness” after he approached club officials about his issues several weeks ago.

“Both the club and Hollands, in consultation with his close support network, have been working towards the best approach to support the 22-year-old through this time,” the statement said.

Carlton football manager Brad Lloyd said the club was applauding Hollands for his “courage to come forward and ask for help”.

“While Elijah has been engaged with the football program, quite rightly it is our care for him as a person which matters most, so this period of leave will allow him to focus on himself and he will be afforded as much time as he needs to do that,” Lloyd said.

“Elijah’s level of involvement within the football program during this period will be worked through at the appropriate time, however that certainly sits secondary to Elijah’s wellbeing — which is our No.1 priority.

“We would once again like to acknowledge Elijah for his willingness to come to us for support, and we will certainly continue to provide him with that support through this next period.”

The club said due to the personal nature of Hollands’ circumstances it would not be providing any “ongoing commentary until it is necessary to do so”.

It compounds recent setbacks to the Blues’ forward half with Orazio Fantasia recently suffering calf setback and will miss against Richmond on Thursday night.

Key forward Charlie Curnow has also been ruled out but is expected to push for selection against Hawthorn in round 2 after a recent knee cleanout.