Max King will spend months on the sideline after a training accident.
The key forward will see a surgeon on Tuesday and will undergo a left shoulder reconstruction in the coming days after injuring himself in a marking contest on Monday.
King returned to pre-season a little over a fortnight ago.
Max King will spend time on the sidelines after injuring his shoulder.
— St Kilda FC (@stkildafc) December 6, 2022
See you back out there soon, Max 🤝
St Kilda head of football Geoff Walsh said King will now miss a significant chunk of the season.
“Obviously this is an extremely disappointing setback for Max,” Walsh said in a club statement.
“He had come back for pre-season in really great condition, which is a credit to his professionalism; a trait we know will stand him in good stead as he works through his rehab over the next few months.
“The recovery and rehabilitation period for this injury will be a number of months, which we will provide updates on as he progresses through his rehab program – suffice to say his return to play will not be until the season is well underway.”
King played every game in 2022 for a total of 52 goals and would have been among the favourites for the 2023 Coleman Medal.