St Kilda spearhead Max King is in a race towards the clock to play in Spherical 1 after requiring late pre-season surgical procedure on a lingering knee problem.
King, 24, had been managing ache in his proper knee since he was injured in an intra-club match on February 7.
The Saints had hoped to keep away from surgical procedure, however King had an exploratory arthroscope on Thursday due to recurring ache.
He should show his health for St Kilda’s AFL season opener away to Adelaide on March 16.
“We explored numerous non-surgical choices to get rid of Max’s ache, with various however finally not long-lasting success,” the Saints’ soccer supervisor David Misson stated on Thursday.
“The process went properly, so now we’ll give Max a while to recuperate and set up a extra particular return-to-play timeline from there.
“That being stated, we don’t consider this can trigger main delays to Max’s 2025 marketing campaign and he’ll stay contact and go for Spherical 1.”
King, who’s contracted till 2032, is among the many league’s most promising key forwards however has been restricted by knee and shoulder accidents in recent times.
The Saints are hopeful Jack Sinclair (hamstring) and Rowan Marshall (pelvis) will probably be match for Spherical 1, however the pair will miss Saturday’s apply match towards Port Adelaide.