St Kilda has moved to an even keel with a record of 4-4 after a strong win over Carlton on Saturday, but a slew of injuries have struck at the wrong time as a tough month ahead looms over the horizon with fixtures against Gold Coast, Fremantle and Hawthorn.
The Saints had two late outs with Jack Higgins (concussion) and Darcy Wilson (illness) being replaced by Liam O'Connell and Jack Macrae, while small forward Dan Butler injured his left hamstring during the match.
However, the biggest injury happened in the corresponding VFL match earlier in the day when St Kilda spearhead Max King suffered a hamstring injury in his second game back from a long stint on the sidelines.
Speaking in the post-game presser, Ross Lyon said he hoped King's injury was on the lighter side.
"It wasn't an easy day in some respects with the phone calls in the morning with players going down," Lyon said. "That was a bit unexpected, so that always unsettles you a little bit.
"I was watching it and (King) was looking good. They will scan it tomorrow, it looks something on the lower end.
"I did speak about it during the week, that was the risk after such a long lay off, we are trying to manage that soft tissue. He will be disappointed, but he has overcome bigger things.
"Paddy Dow looked like maybe a concussion in the twos as well. But I was really proud of our VFL team, how hard they fought on, with us taking players out to come into the seniors."
Before his injury, King's game in the VFL was looking promising, with the 25-year-old booting 2.1 early in the match.
The incident occurred in the second quarter when he took a mark leading out in front inside 50. King appeared to pull up short, and instead of kicking for goal, he passed to a teammate before leaving the ground in a slow jog.
