ST KILDA has managed to handle an early-season injury crisis to be the only side to win four games so far in 2023 and now it might get back a star forward for Gather Round.  

Tim Membrey is in the frame to face Collingwood at the Adelaide Oval on Sunday night, after missing the first month of the season with a knee injury. 

The 28-year-old underwent an arthroscope in mid-February following an injury at training and was initially expected to be fit in the first fortnight of the season, but has taken a bit longer than first hoped to recover. 

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Membrey will need to pass a fitness test later in the week before being cleared, but after being expected to miss another week or two, he could now be unleased in South Australia. 

St Kilda coach Ross Lyon has unearthed some unlikely targets inside 50 to help maintain a perfect record, with Mitch Owens producing a stunning performance against Gold Coast on Saturday night, while Anthony Caminiti has been a revelation since being signed during the pre-season supplemental selection period.  

But with Membrey on track to return against the Magpies, Lyon and the match committee will now be forced to make some tough calls at selection.

Luckless midfielder Jack Bytel is set for a stint on the sidelines but the injury is not as bad as first feared. 

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The 23-year-old was subbed out of Saturday night's 53-point win over Gold Coast in the last quarter after his ankle was caught in a tackle by Nick Holman at Marvel Stadium. 

Lyon revealed post-game that the coaches' box initially feared Bytel had torn his anterior cruciate ligament in the incident, before doctors confirmed it was an ankle injury. 

Scans have since cleared him of a serious injury with the Saints to have a clearer timeframe around his return by next week. 

Bytel has endured a horrid injury run across the past handful of years, with stress fractures in his back ruining his draft year and disrupting his first season at the Saints, before a foot injury delayed his start to 2022 and saw him fall down the pecking order and not add to his games tally. 

But after breaking into St Kilda's 22 in round one, Bytel missed round two after being hospitalised when a cut on his knee became infected. 

St Kilda will head to Gather Round in Adelaide as the only side to win the first four games of the season – the first time the Saints have done that since 2010 – but they still have plenty of injury headaches.  

Captain Jack Steele (broken collarbone) is still a few weeks away, key forward Max King (shoulder) remains at least six weeks away, while Zak Jones is closing in on a return from an Achilles issue and is expected to be available for selection in two or three weeks.