The Demons and Tigers had negotiated a trade for the former No. 2 draft pick, but were forced to abandon the plan after a secondary set of scans ordered by Richmond's medical team confirmed he had been re-injured.

Both clubs were genuinely shocked by what the scans revealed, as was Trengove's surgeon, given his encouraging recent progress.

Trengove, who was told the shattering news on Monday night, now faces further surgery and a fight to resume his promising 81-game career.

The 23-year-old was first diagnosed with a cracked navicular in April, and played just two games for the season. He had previously overcome a stress fracture in a different part of the same foot.

He used social media on Tuesday to tell supporters he loved a challenge and that nothing would stop him from achieving what he wanted, despite the new challenge.

Melbourne football manager Josh Mahoney said Trengove had been progressing well in his rehabilitation, and that scans taken eight weeks ago had shown "significant healing" in his foot.

"Jack then gradually increased his loading which included a period of time on the de-load treadmill before two weeks of running outside," Mahoney said.

"Unfortunately, Jack experienced some pain in the associated areas around his navicular whilst running. This was considered normal after not running for six months, however further scans on Monday have unfortunately shown further damage to his navicular.

"This is obviously devastating news for Jack and we will seek further advice from surgeons for a plan moving forward so he can return to playing football."

Richmond wished Trengove well in his recovery, while Melbourne confirmed the trade could not go ahead.

"In terms of the preliminary trade discussions involving Jack, like all deals, clubs cannot talk with any certainty about the player before he has been medically cleared," Mahoney said.

"Obviously in this case, that has not happened and Jack will remain at the Melbourne Football Club."

In an instagram post, Trengove said he had never been one for negativity and asked supporters to back him in.

"Someone out there obviously loves giving me more and more challenges to overcome. I guess the lucky part is that I love a challenge and nothing will stop me from achieving what I want. I have never been more motivated to prove the doubters wrong," he wrote.

"Everything happens for a resason and I am positive that 'good' will come out of this. Perspective is a wonderful thing in moments like this, there are so many others out there doing it a lot tougher than me.

"Don't feel sorry for me, just back me in."