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Three-time Richmond premiership defender Dylan Grimes may have played his last AFL game after undergoing season-ending back surgery.

Richmond premiership hero Dylan Grimes' AFL future is in doubt after undergoing season-ending surgery.

The club announced on Wednesday the three-time premiership defender had undergone surgery for recurring back injuries.

He had only managed five games in 2024 and last played in the Tigers' round-eight loss to Fremantle in May, falling in and out of the side as he battled.

There is no set date for his returning to training or a definitive timeline for recovery, leaving question marks around the future of the 32-year-old's playing career.

Grimes, an unrestricted free agent, is in the final year of his contract with the club, having debuted in 2010.

News of Grimes' surgery comes during a growing injury crisis under first-year coach Adam Yze.

Tom Lynch and Dion Prestia are among the 14-name-long injury list, which includes five players who tore their anterior cruciate ligament.

Grimes has played 234 games across 15 seasons, and played in Richmond's premiership wins in 2017, 2019 and 2020.

He made the All-Australian team in the 2019 premiership season, while he won the Tigers' best and fairest in 2021.

The key back co-captained the Tigers in 2022 and 2023, before ruckman Toby Nankervis took the reins ahead of this season.