St Kilda forward Jack Billings will miss a fortnight with a broken thumb as the fallout continues from the Saints’ bruising loss to Melbourne.
The Saints were left with just two available rotations on their bench by quarter time on Saturday, as star forward Max King suffered a season-ending shoulder injury, but Billings was not among the wounded trio and played out the game.
Seb Ross (hamstring) and Zaine Cordy (concussion) joined King on the bench, with scans confirming a grade 2 strain for Ross, who will miss four to six weeks.
The injury caps off a luckless campaign for Billings, who gathered 18 disposals and kicked a goal in his first senior appearance since last year after overcoming a broken leg and subsequent hamstring injury.
Acting Saints football boss David Misson said the 27-year-old underwent surgery on his hand after the game.
“Jack fractured his thumb on Saturday night, so he’s had surgery to address that this week. He’s looking at two weeks out of the game,” Misson said.
Saints trio Josh Battle (concussion), Jack Higgins (knee) and Bradley Hill (knee) are all in line to face the Suns this weekend provided they pass fitness tests.
Classy left-footer Dan McKenzie’s bid for a comeback has been derailed by another calf strain, with Misson revealing McKenzie would be forced to return to rehab and would likely be sidelined for the remainder of the season.
The 27-year-old is out of contract and will be a restricted free agent at the end of the season after he was a big part of the Saints' barnstorming first half of 2022 on a wing before succumbing to injury.
He has only played 19 games since tearing his calf in April 2021.
“At this stage, it’s about long-term health for Dan, so while it would be great to see him again this year, we’re not going to rush his recovery,” Misson said.
Luckless defender Nick Coffield is closing in on a return from his own calf injury and looks set to play in the VFL next week following Sandringham’s bye.
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