St Kilda have been dealt further bad news on the injury front, with Jimmy Webster and Jack Bytel set to be sidelined with respective injuries.
Webster is set to undergo surgery after breaking his hand in the Saints' win over Fremantle on Sunday, with the club hopeful he should have a "speedy recovery".
Bytel meanwhile will miss Round 2's clash against the Western Bulldogs after being admitted to hospital with a cut knee, where he got the wound cleaned out.
St Kilda's acting General Manager of Football, David Misson, said it was disappointing to lose the duo, but revealed that Marcus Windhager will be available for selection after recovering from a broken hand.
โJimmy is such a courageous player and it's disappointing for him to hit a roadblock like this,โ Misson said.
โThe injury is comparable to Marcus', so we're hopeful for a similarly speedy recovery for Jimmy.
โJack suffered a cut to his knee early in the game which was attended to and he returned to the field. However, his discomfort continued post-match and Jack was admitted to hospital later that evening.
โJack then underwent a clean-out of the wound, resulting in disruption to his preparation this week.
โMarcus was very close to playing last week, but didn't complete the necessary training load for him to be selected. As has been a constant with Marcus, he's put his head down during rehab and we're pleased to have him available for Round 2.โ
Misson also confirmed that Tim Membrey's return doesn't have a "definite" date, with the key forward suffering setbacks in his recovery from a knee injury.
โDue to his knee injury, Tim's training load has been diminished over the past six weeks,โ Misson said.
โIn order to set him up for a good season, we feel we need to extend his re-loading period accordingly.
โWe're hesitant to put a definite return date down for Tim, but at this stage it could still be anywhere from 4 to 6 weeks.
โWe will carefully monitor his progress and update as relevant.โ
St Kilda next face the Bulldogs on Saturday night at Marvel Stadium, hoping to win their second match from as many games.
