Saint Membrey in doubt for Hawks clash after finger surgery
St Kilda forward Tim Membrey is in doubt for the Saints' crucial clash with Hawthorn at Metricon Stadium on Sunday after undergoing finger surgery this week.
The club confirmed on Thursday that Membrey went under the knife on Monday.
While the operation was relatively minor, Membrey - a member of the club's leadership group - is a strong chance to miss the date with the Hawks, although he is yet to be formally ruled out.
It's expected he would miss a maximum of one match and be available for the Saints' round 17 game next Thursday night against West Coast.
Membrey, 26, has kicked 16 goals from 14 matches this year as part of coach Brett Ratten's new-look forward line.
The 190-centimetre forward has been a mainstay of the Saints' line-up for the best part of five years, playing 54 consecutive games.
Tim MembreyCredit:Getty Images
Membrey's injury potentially complicates the situation surrounding fellow tall forward Max King, who the Saints are considering resting in the coming weeks.
"With our wellbeing program, we monitor all our players with their sleep, their recovery, and he hasn't red-flagged yet but then you've got the flip side of he's a first-year player and how far do we want to push him in one year?" coach Brett Ratten said of King last week.
"The players we've left out have all been red-flagged. Their markers have told us they're maybe on the verge of getting injured and with the season compressed, we can't be having players missing two weeks - it could be three games of footy … we need to play it pretty smart there.
"Max hasn't hit those indicators yet but that's going to be a constant conversation, whether it's this week, next week or when the season's getting to the end."
Sitting in seventh position on the ladder with eight wins and six losses, the Saints' destiny remains in their own hands despite narrow losses to the Brisbane Lions and Melbourne in the past fortnight.
But St Kilda almost certainly need to beat the lowly Hawks if they are to qualify for a first finals series in nine years, given the Saints have tougher games remaining against the Eagles and Greater Western Sydney.
St Kilda have had a relatively good run with injury this year. Dan Hannebery (hamstring) and Jade Gresham (back) both flew to Queensland earlier this week in the hope they could yet play again this season.