ST KILDA has sent star forward Max King for scans on his knee after an injury scare at training on Friday, AFL.com.au's Cal Twomey reports.
The club confirmed the key forward has been sent for scans, but the exact nature of the injury is yet to be confirmed.
Twomey reported the club is hopeful he has avoided an ACL tear.
King has been limited to just 23 games across the past two seasons due to various injuries.
Mason Wood (quad) and Jack Sinclair (hamstring) will also have scans after leaving training early on Friday.
"We'll provide further information once we have those results," St Kilda executive general manager of football David Misson said.
"We understand the interest in Max, Mason and Jack, but until we have the scan results, we're working in hypotheticals which is irresponsible.
"The club will provide an update in due course."
King suffered a shoulder injury in late 2022 that delayed his start to the 2023 season, while his 2024 was ended early due to a knee injury.
Another setback would leave the Saints scrambling for tall forward replacements, having delisted Tim Membrey (who has since been picked up by Collingwood) and Jack Hayes at the end of last season.
It comes just four months after King signed a monster six-year contract extension, tying him to the club until the end of 2032.
It has already been a horror off-season on the injury front for the Saints.
Dougal Howard (shoulder) and Mattaes Phillipou (leg) will both miss a large part of the start of the season, while star ruck Rowan Marshall is expected to play in round one despite a pelvic injury.
Paddy Dow (knee infection) will also miss the beginning of the campaign and Liam Henry (knee) is no guarantee to be available for round one.
Taken at No.4 in the 2018 draft, King missed the 2019 season as he recovered from a knee reconstruction.
He made his AFL debut in 2020 and has played 83 games, kicking 159 goals.
He showed just how good he can be when uninjured in 2022, playing 22 games and kicking 52 goals.
Sinclair finished runner-up to Callum Wilkie in last year's club best-and-fairest voting. The defender had won the award in the previous two seasons and is also a two-time All-Australian.
Wood played 18 senior games last season and found his niche on a wing.
The Saints most recently made the finals in 2020.
Last season under coach Ross Lyon they struggled to 12th, two games outside the top eight with an 11-12 record, although the year ended on a high with wins over finalists Geelong and Carlton.
