St Kilda will be without one of their key players in Dougal Howard for the coming weeksย after electing to have the defender undergo surgery on his wrist.
After fracturing his wrist during the North Melbourne game last weekend, scans revealed damage in the left scaphoid with surgery set to occur on Thursday in the hopes of giving Howard as much recovery time as possible for an earlier return.
No timeline has since been put on his return with just over a month to go in the home and away season, but the Saints are remaining optimistic that he will return to play before or in the finals if required.
โDougal is a tough player and managed to play out the game with some pain relief, but ongoing pain post-game led us to further investigation,โ Acting General Manager of Football David Misson said in a club injury update.
โScans yesterday confirmed the fracture, so he'll have surgery tomorrow.
โWe'll monitor his recovery from surgery and that will allow us to map out a return to play timeline.โ
It's poor timing regardless for St Kilda who are trying to cement their position within the eight. Five teams are currently within reach of St Kilda, and depending on the results from the weekend, the Saints can finish as low as 11th after Round 20 based on either percentage or points.
The Saints are already significantly weaker this weekend without Bradley Hill (lung), Max King (shoulder), Seb Ross (hamstring), and Dan McKenzie (calf).
The Howard blow comes ahead of the Saints' Sunday matchup with Hawthorn and could make or break their season, particularly after struggling against the West Coast Eagles and North Melbourne just last weekend. Hawthorn will be sensing blood in the water to topple St Kilda's hopes of making the finals.
Howard has played a crucial role in the Saints' defence, averaging 7.2 spoils and 2.1 intercept marks per game. Since moving over from Port Adelaide, he has taken the reins as the leading tall defender for St Kilda and has played all games for St Kilda in 2023.
In positive news for Saints fans, Zaine Cordy will return from concussion protocols and is likely to be the replacement for Howard, who will be sorely missed with every game becoming more important by the day for St Kilda.
