ST KILDA young gun Nick Coffield has suffered a suspected ACL tear during match simulation at Mars Stadium on Friday morning.
The 22-year-old went down early in the session and immediately appeared in distress, clutching his right knee before being attended to by medical staff.
Play was brought to a standstill for five minutes while the young defender was helped off the ground in Ballarat.
Coffield is set undergo scans in Melbourne on Saturday morning, but there are grave concerns the defender will require a knee reconstruction, wiping out all of 2022.
"Early assessments from our medical team suggest it’s an ACL, but we’ll need to wait for scans to confirm the injury," chief operating officer Simon Lethlean said.
"This is obviously a really disappointing blow for Nick who has been showing positive signs all pre-season.
"Whatever the outcome, we know that Nick will attack his rehab with complete professionalism and the club will be supporting him every step of the way."
It is a devastating blow for the 2017 No.8 pick who has been one of St Kilda's most impressive performers on the track this pre-season.
After finishing fifth in the 2020 Trevor Barker Award following a breakout season, Coffield struggled for consistency last year but impressed many inside RSEA Park with his dedication and looked set to take the next step in 2022.
Coffield and Max King invested in a private running coach over the summer and had improved their conditioning.
Just when the Saints looked like putting a nightmare injury run behind them, with Jade Gresham, Jarryn Geary and Dan Hannebery all set to play in the pre-season ahead of potential round one returns, St Kilda is set to be without one of its brightest young talents for the next 12 months.
St Kilda coach Brett Ratten had been bullish about Coffield as recently as this week, but will get Ben Paton back from a broken leg this year, as well as Geary, who managed only three games in 2021 due to a fractured leg and shoulder reconstruction.
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The Saints already have two list spots available ahead of the pre-season supplemental selection deadline period and weren’t expected to use more than one spot before Coffield went down.
Woodville-West Torrens star Jack Hayes is set to earn one of those spots after training with the club since December, but with another spot becoming available – and the unknown of COVID-19 in 2022 – St Kilda may explore another player before the deadline on March 9.
Geary and Gresham didn’t take part in match simulation on Friday morning as they continue to work towards playing in St Kilda's intraclub match later this month ahead of the AAMI Community Series game against Essendon on March 9.