St Kilda says scans on Mitch Owens’s injured shoulder are “promising”, but he will require further medical advice before a final determination is made on the seriousness of the injury.
The news was not as positive for Owens’s teammate Cooper Sharman, who will miss the start of the season after scans revealed he had fractured his thumb.
The 21-year-old immediately went to the rooms nursing his left shoulder.
“Mitch’s shoulder joint is stable, but his AC joint copped a knock in the incident,” St Kilda’s general manager of David Misson said in a statement.
“The scans this morning were promising, but we’ll seek further advice from specialists to help assess the best course of action from here.”
Sharman will require an operation on his fractured thumb.
“Cooper will undergo surgery in the coming days, and we’ll assess his rehab window once that settles,” Misson said.
Star Saints forward Max King is facing a race against time to be fit for the start of the season after undergoing minor knee surgery.
Paddy Dow’s timeline to return is still unknown after he battled a knee infection over the summer break, which resulted in a lengthy stint in hospital and three rounds of surgery.
Alix Tauru (back), Mattaes Phillipou (leg) and Dougal Howard (shoulder) are potentially 10 weeks away from returning.
The Saints open their season against the Crows in Adelaide on March 16.
