ST KILDA spearhead Max King has been ruled out for the remainder of the season after undergoing knee surgery.
King went under the knife on Monday morning to repair damage to the medial aspect of his right knee, which has been an issue since February.
The club said King was closing in on a return in recent weeks but felt a "clunking" in his knee which required further investigation.
"We understand there has been a lot of interest in Max's health over the last few months," Saints footy manager David Misson said.
"Max's case has not been simple nor linear, and we've attempted to adequately keep our members and fans up to date while maintaining Max's privacy. We have also been dealing with a medical situation that has often confounded the many medical experts we have consulted.
"About 10 days ago, as Max was closing in on a return to football, he felt a clunking in his knee - the same knee that has been causing him trouble throughout this season.
"This was as surprising as it was frustrating, as all indications were that Max's most recent arthroscope had addressed this issue.
"Following further consultations and imaging last week and over the weekend, we feel the cause of Max's issue has been pinpointed and that damage to the medial aspect of his knee, in certain situations, was impeding his movement and causing pain.
"The operation aimed to address and repair this issue. It will see Max off-legs for several months, however, will allow him to be ready for the commencement of pre-season.
"Max's grit and resilience has remained incredibly strong and steadfast throughout this challenging time, and he heads into this period of rehab with the whole club behind him."
The 24-year-old first suffered the injury in St Kilda's intraclub in February, which required an arthroscope, before another setback in April that required more surgery.
King signed a monster new contract extension late last year that tied him to the club until the end of 2032.
The key forward has kicked 159 goals from 83 games since being snared with pick No.4 in the 2018 national draft.
Meanwhile, Saints young gun Mattaes Phillipou will be sidelined for the next few weeks after re-aggravating a plantaris tendon injury in the minutes before Saturday night's loss to Collingwood.
The 2022 pick No.10 was removed from the starting line-up and replaced by Ryan Byrnes just before the opening bounce, after feeling sharp pain at the back of his calf in the final warm-up at Marvel Stadium.
Phillipou had also missed the first two months of the season after suffering a stress fracture in his femur in January, which sidelined him until May.
St Kilda sits in 15th spot on the ladder with a 5-9 record ahead of its clash with Fremantle on Sunday.
