The Max King heartbreak rolls on, with scans revealing a hamstring strain that will end the cursed St Kilda key forward's season.
King left the ground midway through the third term against North Melbourne on Sunday and was so distraught he didn't join in the club song after the victory.
Given his history, it seemed inevitable he would miss the rest of the season and it was official after scans to his left hamstring.
"It's an incredibly disappointing outcome for Max, who has done everything possible throughout his rehabilitation to put himself in the best position to return," St Kilda's general manager of football, Lenny Hayes, said.
"He's an incredibly important part of our football club. We'll continue to wrap our arms around him and provide all the support he needs as he works through this latest setback.
“Our focus now turns to ensuring Max undertakes a full pre-season to allow him to get back and play consistent senior football in 2027.”
The Kangaroos clash was King's first AFL hitout since June, 2024.
He succumbed to a hamstring injury in the VFL on return this season, yet the Saints decided to thrust him straight back into AFL action on limited minutes.
The calculated gamble didn't pay off, with coach Ross Lyon facing questions in a tense post-match presser.
“We stand by our decision to play him,” he said, citing “all the metrics” pointing to King being ready.
“We have high-performance experts ... we have conditioning, we're really quite confident.
“Hindsight's 20-20, isn't it? You can't be timid souls sitting in the sidelines. We're in the arena making decisions.”
