There are serious fears for Brisbane’s Jack Payne after the dependable defender went down with what appears to be a season-ending knee injury.

The nasty incident happened late in the first quarter of Brisbane’s clash with the GWS Giants at the Gabba.

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Payne took a contested mark but landed awkwardly and then went to ground, clutching his left knee.

A hush quickly fell over the Gabba as the crowd realised the player was in serious pain.

“He’s hurt his knee! Oh my goodness … He’s extremely concerned,” Dwayne Russell said.

“We’ll keep our fingers crossed … but he does not look confident it’s a minor injury, Jack Payne, the way he’s reacted from that.”

Brisbane great Alastair Lynch said: “Oh it springs up. That mechanism is not one we like to see … that’s not good at all.”

Play stopped and Payne was removed from the field in a medi-cab.

Not long after the incident Brisbane issued a statement.

“The club will need to wait for scans and further assessment before confirming the exact injury to defender Jack Payne,” the club said..

“However, initial assessment unfortunately suggests a ruptured patellar tendon in his left knee.”

Darcy Gardiner, traditionally a back who had been playing forward, is likely to be withdrawn from Sunday’s VFL game and return next week in Payne’s absence.

Crows recruit Tom Doedee is also playing VFL, but after back-to-back ACL recoveries, Fagan suggested it would be “unfair” to recall him for a tough trip to Geelong next week.

Substitute Kai Lohmann replaced Payne, and key forward Eric Hipwood moved to defence.

The Lions have had a shocking run with knee injuries, losing Keidean Coleman, Lincoln McCarthy and Tom Doedee for extended periods.

They also lost Brandon Starcevich in Round 1 to a concussion injury, with the regular defender only making it back this week to face GWS.

The Giants were also dealing an injury to small forward Brent Daniels who was subbed out of the game with an abdominal issue.

Despite the loss of Payne, the Lions looked on track for victory after leading by 16 points at half-time.

But the Giants flipped the script in the second half, kicking nine goals to four to seal a stunning 11-point win.

Aaron Cadman cashed in on Payne’s absence with a career-best game that included five goals and 13 marks, while Jesse Hogan booted six.

The Lions will once again be left to rue poor kicking in the 13.18 (96) to 17.5 (107) result.

Brisbane remain in second place, but could be leapfrogged by Geelong by the end of the night.

The Giants meanwhile move up to seventh place.

Brisbane kicked 0.8 in a five-point loss to Adelaide last week and again lamented inaccuracy, Callum Ah Chee’s missed snap with seven minutes to play just one example of a chance gone begging.

The inside-50 count (55-53) was relatively even, with the Giants rushing through four behinds and touching through another to swell the Lions’ behind tally.

Finn Callaghan (32 disposals) was a ball magnet in his return, while Lachie Whitfield (33 touches) also pulled the strings as the Giants improved to 5-2 at the Gabba since 2017.