Prized recruit at centre of St Kilda injury carnage

St Kilda is counting the cost of a wretched afternoon on Sunday, with three key players suffering significant injuries.

SEN can reveal Tom De Koning suffered a punctured lung and two cracked ribs in the second quarter of the club's loss to the Western Bulldogs.

He was assessed off the field and despite grimacing in pain, came back on before heading to hospital for what the Saints termed 'precautionary scans' at half-time.

Rowan Marshall injured his collarbone and although he returned to the field, was in pain post-match.

He is due to get scans on Monday afternoon to determine whether there was a fracture.

And Jack Sinclair, one of the club's most durable performers, badly tore his calf in the first term.

While the exact timeline is still to be formalised, Sinclair is likely to be done for the year, such is the severity of his injury. 

He was wearing a moon boot at quarter-time and it's understood he heard a 'pop' when he took off to run.

Injuries to De Koning and Marshall leave the Saints short in the ruck department, with one-game Alex Dodson the next cab off the rank.

They will be hoping scans come back all clear for Marshall, who battled through pain to finish the game on Sunday.