St Kilda's Brad Crouch has undergone knee surgery that will see the midfielder miss up to two months of action.
Crouch was not named for the Saints' Round 2 clash with Collingwood due to the injury, joining the club's extensive casualty list early into the 2024 season.
The Saints have lost Liam Henry (hamstring) and Mason Wood (collarbone) for extended periods in the wake of their win over the reigning premiers, with Crouch now set to join the pair on the sidelines.
The club confirmed Crouch has undergone arthroscopic surgery and will miss between 6-8 weeks.
โBrad had surgery on his knee yesterday to address the issue, which will take about six to eight weeks to rehab,โ St Kilda football boss David Misson said in a club update.
โWe do have some players closing in on a return though, so through list depth and injury returns, we'll look to fill the gaps with a next man up mentality.โ
The Saints are also without senior players Paddy Dow (knee), Jack Hayes (knee), Hunter Clark (calf), and Dougal Howard (hamstring) for the coming weeks, while defender Ben Paton is still at least ten weeks away with a pectoral injury.
Small forward Dan Butler should be in the mix for selection this week after overcoming a recent ankle injury, having made his return to the VFL last Friday.
Elsewhere, Port Adelaide are set to put a line through Jason Horne-Francis' selection chances as the former No.1 pick continues to deal with a hamstring strain.
The exciting onballer was a late out for the Power last week due to the injury, which is said to be "worse than first thought", according toย 7 News'ย Josh Money.
The setback will see Horne-Francis miss his side's clash with Melbourne this weekend, with upcoming clashes with Essendon, Fremantle and Collingwood to follow.
Jason Horne-Francis wonโt play Demons on Saturday night. Power says hamstring injury minor, but worse than first thought @7NewsAdelaide @7AFL
— Josh Money (@joshmoney__) March 26, 2024
Port Adelaide have started the season strongly with wins over West Coast and Richmond, with their Round 3 encounter against Melbourne set to be their toughest challenge of the year yer.
The Power are expected to provide a club-wide injury update by Tuesday evening.
