St Kildaโ€™s marquee recruit Dan Hannebery wonโ€™t make any contribution to his new club on-field for the first four rounds of the 2019 season, according to SENโ€™s Sam McClure.

Since crossing to the Saints on a mega five-year deal, the ex-Swan has experienced hamstring tightness throughout the pre-season and subsequently didnโ€™t feature at all in St Kildaโ€™s JLT Community Series.

โ€œHe was training away from the main group; heโ€™s been struggling with that hamstring,โ€ McClure told SENโ€™s Whateley.

โ€œItโ€™s become a bit of a calf issue, as well.

โ€œWhen you do all the maths, I would say itโ€™s more likely that weโ€™d be seeing Dan Hannebery, AFL-wise, all things going well, (from) round five onwards.

โ€œItโ€™s not a great result, they have signed him on a long-term deal.โ€

St Kilda head coach Alan Richardson spoke to the media on Tuesday and addressed the midfielderโ€™s health concerns.

โ€œHeโ€™s had a frustrating period, Dan,โ€ Richardson said.

โ€œWhenever we up the load and the intensity as close as we can get it on the training track to game day, heโ€™s not quite getting there.

โ€œThat could take a while.โ€

Hannebery is joined on a growing Saints injury list by another prize recruit Jake Carlisle (back, majority of the season), Dylan Roberton (heart, season), Billy Longer (hamstring, 1-2 weeks), Paddy McCartin (concussion, TBC), as well as young guns Jack Bytel (back, season), Max King (knee, 6-12 weeks) and Oscar Claravino (ankle, 4-6 weeks).

In some relief for the club, Jack Steven has declared he is aiming for a round one return after taking leave from the club to battle mental health issues.

On a positive note for the Saints, young gun Jack Billings has been elevated to the club's leadership group, as a replacement for Dylan Roberton.

The 23-year-old rounds out the five-man leadership group for the Saints.

The Saints open their 2019 campaign against Gold Coast at Marvel Stadium on Sunday afternoon.