St Kilda’s forward line has taken another hit, with spearhead Tim Membrey in a race to be fit for round one following knee surgery.

Membrey suffered the minor injury at training last week and underwent surgery on Thursday, ruling him out of both pre-season hit-outs.

Assistant coach Robert Harvey remained hopeful the 28-year-old would be fit to play in round one’s clash with Fremantle.

“He had minor surgery on his knee yesterday. The reports are all good so we are expecting him to be all good for round one,” Harvey said.

“He’s had a full summer, he’s barely missed a session, so we’re really happy where he’s at. It’s a minor setback, so we’re totally expecting him to be right for round one.”

The Saints will already be without fellow key forward Max King as he recovers from a shoulder reconstruction, while mature-age signing Jack Hayes and untried youngster Matt Allison both ruled out for the early parts of the season.

How the Saints cover for the loss of their key pillars will be a conundrum for coach Ross Lyon, who seemed to be keeping plans close to the chest at training on Friday, with the club’s scoreboard reading ‘no filming’ ahead of an intra-club hitout.

St Kilda has backup options in recently signed Anthony Caminiti, while Dougal Howard has in the past been used as a swingman.