St Kilda coach Brett Ratten has confirmed co-captain Jarryn Geary will make his return from injury in the VFL this weekend, while injury-prone midfielder Dan Hannebery could still be up to a month away from returning.
Geary sustained a featured fibula at training in January and after a two-week training block is set to return to the field this weekend.
Ratten said the 32-year-old was going “really well” as he nears his long-awaited return, while the Saints coach also provided an update on how Hannebery is tracking.
“Everything going well, Jarryn Geary will play in the VFL this weekend,” he said on Sportsday.
“He still has to complete the major session, but he’s going really well and covering the ground as he can.
“Dan Hannebery is progressing well, but we’re just being patient with him. There’s still a lot of footy to be played and he’s just ticking each session off and we keep lifting the (training) loads.
“Touch wood, if he keeps going he’ll be around three to four weeks away but we’ll just wait and see there.”
Young forward Max King has kicked 12 goals and 13 behinds from seven games this year, with Ratten pleading with fans to be patient with the prodigious talent.
“We have to be patient as he’s really a second-year player as he didn’t play in his first year,” he said.
“The good thing is he’s getting his hands to a lot of balls so he’s getting to the right spots and that’s a real plus.
“Sometime this season he’ll kick five, six or seven (goals) maybe, I think we need to be patient. It’s not all about what Max King does, it’s about what the others do around him that’s important so hopefully we have more threats than just one up there.
“Jack Higgins has been a real plus for us, (Rowan) Marshall and (Tim) Membrey take a fair bit of heat around Max as well.”