St Kilda coach Ross Lyon has moved to calm fears over Max King's latest injury setback, revealing the forward's hamstring surgery was not related to a tendon problem.
King's torrid season came to an end on July 26 when he strained his hamstring in his first AFL match since 2024. The 26-year-old has since undergone surgery, but Lyon insists the procedure was minor and expects the injury-prone spearhead to be ready for a strong pre-season.
Coach's assurance
"Well, it was a strained hamstring," Lyon said on Thursday. "There's certain parts of the hamstring that need a slight intervention and take out risk going forward of a recurrence, so that's what's occurred."
Lyon pointed to similar operations across the league as evidence of the procedure's routine nature. "Around the league, Jamie Elliott's had the same operation. Nick Coffield, Liam Henry. It just becomes a normal rehab," he said.
"By the end of the season going to the break, he'll be in full training. So yeah, there's nothing untoward here. It certainly wasn't a tendon."
Support for King
King, whose career has been hampered by serious knee and shoulder issues, was so devastated by his latest injury that he was allowed to leave before the end of St Kilda's 31-point win over North Melbourne. It was his second hamstring strain of the season, and Lyon said there were "no regrets" about returning him straight to AFL level rather than easing him back via the VFL.
Lyon revealed he has visited King at home to offer support. "I've been over to his house, had some bacon blue bread, had a cinnamon scroll, had a good chat about life, offered plenty of support," Lyon said. "He knows we're in his corner. He sees the light. We'll see the other side of this."
Looking ahead
Lyon cited examples of key forwards overcoming injury adversity, including Charlie Curnow, Joe Daniher and Alastair Lynch. "There's plenty of people that miss two years," he said.
St Kilda (9-11) face a resurgent Carlton (10-10) at Marvel Stadium on Sunday, with the Blues having won nine of 11 games under interim coach Josh Fraser, including last week's 76-point demolition of Brisbane. Lyon even tipped Fraser for coach of the year honours.
