ST KILDA midfielder Seb Ross is facing an uphill battle to be fit to start the campaign due to a lingering calf concern that has curtailed his pre-season.
The two-time Trevor Barker Award winner didn't feature in last Friday night's practice match against Essendon and only played limited minutes in the reserves game against Melbourne at the end of February.
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Ross has been struggling with a calf issue across the past month and has had his workload managed by the high performance department at RSEA Park.
The 29-year-old produced one of his best seasons yet in 2022, finishing fifth in the Trevor Barker Award after averaging 25.8 disposals from 21 appearances, building on a seventh placing a year earlier following a challenging 2020.
Ross was drafted at the end of 2011 and has been on the list at St Kilda longer than anyone else – along with Jimmy Webster – and was voted into the leadership group for a sixth season in 2023.
If Ross doesn't get up in time to face Fremantle next Sunday, it will be a blow for a St Kilda midfield that will be without Zak Jones against a deep and diverse Dockers engine room.
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St Kilda will start the season without Max King (shoulder reconstruction), Jack Billings (fractured leg) and Jack Hayes (foot) and Ross Lyon is bracing to be without Ross against Fremantle.
Spearhead Tim Membrey is also in a race against the clock to be fit in time to face the Dockers.
The 28-year-old underwent knee surgery a few weeks ago and has started training again, but is far from a lock to play round one and might miss more than one game.
With the late Sunday slot first up for the Saints, Membrey will be given plenty of time to prove his fitness but won't be risked if he doesn't recover in time.
Marcus Windhager underwent surgery on his right hand last Saturday after breaking it in the opening quarter of the win over the Bombers.
The Saints are hopeful the second-year player will be available to start the season but won't know until closer to game time next week.
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Windhager played 18 games in an impressive debut season that included a number of games as a tagger, where he claimed the scalps of Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale and West Coast midfielder Tim Kelly.
The 19-year-old has been one of the most impressive players on the track this pre-season and has trained predominantly as a forward, but could be deployed in a negating role like many former players under Lyon.