St Kilda spearhead Max King is in a race against the clock to play in round one after requiring late pre-season surgery on a lingering knee issue.
King, 24, had been managing pain in his right knee since he was injured in an intra-club match on February 7.
The Saints had hoped to avoid surgery, but King had an exploratory arthroscope on Thursday because of recurring pain.
He will have to prove his fitness for St Kilda's AFL season opener away to Adelaide on March 16.
"We explored a number of non-surgical options to eliminate Max's pain, with varying but ultimately not long-lasting success," the Saints' football manager David Misson said on Thursday.
"The procedure went well, so now we'll give Max some time to recuperate and establish a more definite return-to-play timeline from there.
"That being said, we don't believe this will cause major delays to Max's 2025 campaign and he'll remain touch and go for round one."
King, who is contracted until 2032, is among the league's most promising key forwards but has been limited by knee and shoulder injuries in recent years.
The Saints are hopeful Jack Sinclair (hamstring) and Rowan Marshall (pelvis) will be fit for round one, but the pair will miss Saturday's practice match against Port Adelaide.
