Melbourne veteran Brody Mihocek has undergone surgery after suffering a fractured neck in a horror incident against Collingwood on King’s Birthday.

The MCG fell silent when Mihocek went down after his head hit the ground while being tackled by former teammate Billy Frampton.

Play was stopped for close to 10 minutes as the 33-year-old was eventually taken from the field on a stretcher.

Every player on the ground rushed over to pay respects to the veteran, who is much loved at both clubs.

He was then transported to hospital. Subsequent scans confirmed a neck fracture.

In positive news, he underwent successful surgery and is up on his feet and walking at the hospital.

“You never want to see an incident in our game, like what we saw with Brody on Monday,” Melbourne GM of footy Alan Richardson said.

“Brody is in the very best of care and was able to undergo surgery last night, which, thankfully, went as planned.

“Our primary focus right now is supporting Brody, his partner Polly and their family through his recovery, while ensuring his return to full health.”

Meanwhile, Frampton could face a three-match suspension for the incident if the MRO deems he failed to show enough duty of care for his involvement in the tackle.

“The MRO and AFL will determine whether the Pie showed enough duty of care to his premiership teammate. Pies would surely challenge at the tribunal,” Channel 7’s Tom Morris said.

There was also injury fallout for Collingwood after Monday’s tight loss to Melbourne, with defender Brayden Maynard hoping he can return to the AFL quickly after suffering two shoulder dislocations during the game.

The Collingwood defender went in for scans on Tuesday morning and confessed to being unsure whether he would need surgery.

An operation on Maynard’s right shoulder would most likely end his season.

Maynard’s injury compounded a tough day for the Magpies, whose loss left them languishing 11th on the ladder with a 5-7-1 record.

“Hopefully I can just strengthen the bastard and get back out there within a couple of weeks,” Maynard said.

“But we’ll see how we go. If I have to get surgery, I will have to get surgery.

“I’ve been in this situation before and I’ve been able to stick fat with it and strengthen it up, just get on with it.

“Hopefully I can do that, but time will tell.”

Asked for his gut feeling about what will happen, Maynard channelled FightMND great Neale Daniher.

“I don’t know, it’s a bit of a tough one, but I feel like the stuff and the strengthening I’ve done over the couple of years that I’ve had shoulder issues, I’ve been able to get over it and just get going,” he said.

“’Play on’ – as Neale said. Keep playing on.”

— With AAP