PRIZED St Kilda draftee Max King is expected to miss at least six weeks with a right ankle syndesmosis injury.
However, he has been cleared of any damage to the knee he had reconstructed last year.
Meanwhile, gun onballer Jack Steele could be back in a fortnight from a dislocated kneecap suffered at training.
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Depending on how King's ankle settles, the key forward could miss longer than six weeks. Football manager Simon Lethlean expects more clarity in the next few days.
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"Max has escaped damage to his knee, which is a good result given our initial fears, but he has sustained a high ankle sprain," Lethlean told saints.com.au.
"We'll wait and see how the injury settles over the coming days, which will allow us to provide a more definitive timeframe for his return to footy."
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The No.4 pick from last year's NAB AFL Draft was closing in on his senior debut, having impressed in his five VFL games before being hurt early in Sunday's clash with Werribee.
"Hopefully I get back out there soon," King said on Monday.
"It didn't feel great - I just landed on it really poorly.
"But I guess it's a good sign that the knee held up structurally.
"It was a bit of a scary moment though."
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Steele was injured in a tackle at the club's main session, two days before St Kilda defeated Gold Coast.
He's been one of the Saints' best in 2019, often assigned to an opposition star, but has averaged 23 disposals per game.
He is ranked No.4 in the competition for average tackles.
"Jack will start running this week which is really positive news," Lethlean said.
"He has some inflammation in the knee-joint to overcome but shouldn't be too far away from full training."
The Saints sit 6-6 and have a crunch clash with Brisbane on Saturday.
Their relatively poor percentage of 87 makes it tougher for them to make finals.
After the Lions, St Kilda will face Richmond (Marvel Stadium), North Melbourne (Blundstone Arena) and Geelong (GMHBA Stadium).
The news comes in the wake of Paddy McCartin flying to Chicago on Monday for further treatment on his eighth concussion since 2014, with his latest head knock having plagued him since March.
