Luckless St Kilda recruit Nathan Freeman’s career hangs by a thread after injuring a hamstring at training last Friday.
It is understood the 22-year-old will require surgery despite the tear being described as minor.
Freeman, who has not played a senior game since being drafted by Collingwood with the 10th overall pick in 2013, has battled chronic hamstring issues for the entirety of his career.
The Saints were hopeful the playmaker had turned the corner after playing 13 games in the VFL last season and successfully working through a modified pre-season.
But the latest setback casts doubt on the future of the former Sandringham Dragon star.
SEN’s Sam McClure said murmurings of the injury were about over the weekend.
“There have been murmurs for the past few days,” he told SEN's Whateley.
“It was at training last Friday that he did it.
“My understanding is that he will probably require surgery, and while it’s only a minor tear that might be a four-week injury for a regular player, he is anything but given his history.”
St Kilda released a second and fourth round draft pick to secure Freeman from Collingwood at the end of 2015.
At this stage the calculated risk to take a player who had missed two years with hamstring issues has blown up in the face of the Saints.