Richmond have put a line through untried midfielder Josh Smillie’s season but insist their hand was not forced by a setback, reports 7NEWS Melbourne’s Mitch Cleary.

The 20-year-old has still yet to make his AFL debut after being ravaged by quad injuries since being taken with the No.7 pick in the 2024 draft.

There had been hopes he could suit up in the VFL for the first time this year within the next two weeks.

Instead the Tigers, denying Smillie had gone backwards, said they are taking an “ultra conservative” approach and giving their young gun the chance to attack a full pre-season.

Smillie completed a full training session on Wednesday before the decision was made.

“Josh has worked extremely diligently in his rehab from quad surgery in the pre-season and the unfortunate setback that he had earlier this year,” Richmond football boss Tim Livingstone said.

“He has returned to the main training group in recent weeks and has been completing most drills.

“However, given his limited training exposure to date, there is still some risk with exposing him to game-like conditions in the short term.

“We have therefore made the ultra-conservative decision not to return to play in 2026 so we can focus entirely on setting him up for a full pre-season.

“Ultimately, we all agree that this is the best decision for the long-term.

“We will give Josh our full support and we know he is driven, excited and looking forward to starting pre-season fully fit.”

Smillie played four VFL games in early 2025 before being cut down.

The premature end to his season comes a week after Richmond fitness boss Ben Serpell left the club in the wake of their horror injury run.