St Kilda star ruckman Rowan Marshall is among a group of star Saints eyeing a feature in the club's Round 1 match against Adelaide.
Marshall has been managing a stress fracture in his pelvis, with an original timeline suggesting the 201cm ruck may be facing a race to reach full fitness before the Saints' first home and away match.
In a comprehensive injury report released on Wednesday, the Saints revealed that Marshall is progressing well in his recovery and is on track to play at Adelaide Oval on March 16.
The 28-year-old will continue to progressively increase his load throughout the pre-season fixtures against Carlton and Port Adelaide.
Max King was cleared from significant knee damage after a scare at training last Friday, and will undertake a short precautionary reintegration back into the main training, undertaking a lighter program this week.
Jack Sinclair and Mason Wood also all avoided major soft tissue strains, however will miss the pre-season matches due to their respective four-week and three-week injury timelines.
Livewire forward Liam Henry is set to reintegrate back into full training after recovering from post-season surgery on his knee. Alix Tauru has resumed running and is anticipated to join non-contact training drills soon, while Paddy Dow is adding to his load after a traumatic knee infection.
The two long-term injury battlers, Dougal Howard and Mattaes Phillipou, are beginning gym work in their lengthy recoveries, with Phillipou to end his stint on crutches shortly and Howard to begin building his strength back after he required surgery from a shoulder dislocation.
