Childs confirmed on Thursday he requires another reconstruction on his left knee after he was injured in the Bloods’ win over Gisborne last round at Harry Trott Oval.

It will be Childs’ second left knee reconstruction after previously injuring it playing for the Shepparton Swans in the 2015 Goulburn Valley league preliminary final.

He missed all of last season in what was his first year as South Bendigo coach.

The 31-year-old hard-nut ruptured his ACL again laying a tackle.

“It’s a complete rupture again… it’s obviously disappointing, but I know I did everything right in my rehab and preparation and had it happened to my good knee, it would have been the same outcome,” Childs said on Thursday.

“It was an incident where both my foot and hip were locked and unfortunately, the knee went again and that’s one of those things that comes with playing footy.”

Childs will have surgery in a fortnight and will take it one step at a time before making a decision about whether he has another crack at returning to the football field in 2019.

“I haven’t made my mind up yet on whether this will finish me as a player or whether I’ll come back and give it another go,” Childs said.

“If everything goes well, I’d like to take the opportunity to come back, but I’ll just have to see what happens.

“I suppose going through a reconstruction again, I know what is required and the psychological aspect of it.”

Renowned as a gritty midfielder, Childs has spent most of this season playing forward, helping to offset the loss of star recruit Kaiden Antonowicz to a fractured ankle.

Childs showed how damaging he can be in his forward role when he slotted five goals in a match-winning performance against reigning premier Sandhurst in round six.

The Bloods have been the biggest improver in the BFNL this season, with their tally of seven wins after 11 rounds already more than the five games they won last year.

Having not played finals since 2012, the Bloods sit in fifth position on the ladder, half-a-game clear of Kyneton.

The Bloods travel to Maryborough on Saturday to take on the Magpies.

• Other games: Castlemaine v Kyneton, Eaglehawk v Strathfieldsaye, Gisborne v Kangaroo Flat, Sandhurst v Golden Square.