Luckless Saints star suffers fresh injury blow

Max King has suffered another injury, further frustrating the St Kilda key forward's bid for an AFL return.

The one positive for King and the Saints is it's a calf muscle problem, rather than the repeated knee injuries that meant he played no football last year.

St Kilda said on Monday that King suffered a "low-grade" calf injury as he returned to full training.

That will set back the comeback of one of the AFL's most injury-cursed players by two to three weeks.

"Max has put together a solid block of work this pre-season and it is disappointing for him to face this setback albeit on the lower end of the scale," new Saints football boss Lenny Hayes said on the club website.

"However, we remain optimistic and will do everything we can to support Max and have him back in full training as soon as possible."

Injuries meant the 2018 No.4 draft pick managed only 23 games across the 23-24 seasons. His last AFL game was round 17 in the '24 season.

King needed more surgery on his right knee last December, sidelining him until late last month. He initially injured the knee during a February practice match and had two other operations.

The Saints re-signed King to a six-year deal in 2024, taking him to 2032.

Since his 2020 senior debut, King has kicked 159 goals in 83 games.