ST KILDA young gun Mattaes Phillipou is facing a delayed start to 2025 after the club confirmed a stress fracture in his leg, while defender Dougal Howard has also been sidelined after dislocating his shoulder at training.
The club had been investigating Phillipou’s injury in recent days after he pulled up sore from training on Friday.
While the Saints were hoping to avoid a worst-case scenario and monitored his recovery over the weekend, scans confirmed the extent of the injury on Monday which could see the 20-year-old miss up to 12 weeks.
The injury is an unfortunate setback for the third-year talent, who had been training and impressing with his midfield work across summer.
“It was clear he’d taken the lessons he learned last year into his off-season and came back ready to attack 2025,” Saints footy boss David Misson said.
“He’ll be on crutches for the next couple of weeks, then we’re looking at 10-12 weeks of rehabilitation and re-loading after that.
“It’s a tough pill to swallow, but Mattaes’ maturity and commitment is far beyond his years, and we’re sure he’ll tackle this period with the professionalism we’ve come to expect from him.”
The 20-year-old, who was pick No.10 in the 2022 national draft, played every game in his debut season before a challenging campaign last season.
He played at VFL level mid-season before coming back into the Saints’ side late in the season, averaging 23 disposals and a goal in his final four games of the year.
The 28-year-old left the ground after copping the injury in a marking contest during the session and will undergo scans on Tuesday before the club assigns a return-to-play timeline.
“Recovery from an injury like this can really range from days to weeks, so we won’t speculate until we have that clarity,” Misson said.
Meanwhile, Saints ruckman Rowan Marshall is also on light duties in the lead up to round one as he manages a back issue.
The 29-year-old will undergo a CT scan on Wednesday to assess the extent of a stress fracture in his pelvis.
“We’re hopeful that Rowan will be available for round one or soon thereafter.”
AFL.com.au last week revealed Saints midfielder Paddy Dow would miss an extended period of the season after suffering from an infection over the Christmas break.
