Brock-Burrum big man Matt Seiter has been ruled out for the next two months with a knee injury.
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The Azzi medallist hurt his knee in round eight against Howlong and missed last weekend's clash against Jindera.
A recent MRI scan revealed Seiter had escaped any structural damage to the knee.
However he will be forced to miss eight weeks with a torn MCL and bone bruising.
"The good news is that it's not a PCL and I don't require surgery," Seiter said.
"The bad news is that I will still miss eight weeks.
"I have to wear a knee brace for most of that time which limits the movement of the knee."
Seiter now faces a race against time to be fit and firing for the Saints who look destined to contest finals once again.
The Saints last missed playing finals in 2009 and sit third with a 7-2 record at the half-way point of the season.
Seiter missed a large chunk of last season after he suffered a punctured lung and broken ribs in a ruck contest against Osborne's Nick Madden.
"It's frustrating knowing I'm going to miss most of the second-half of the season," he said.
"I punctured my lung around this time of the season last year.
"It's frustrating because you do the pre-season, start the season off well and build up your match fitness.
"I'm 35 now and not getting any younger so it gets a lot harder to regain any fitness that I had.
"Yes, I should be able to get back before finals but the challenge now is to be fit and firing during the finals and having an impact."
Seiter has forged a reputation as the most dominant big man in the competition since joining the Saints in 2018.
However, he has switched roles this season from the ruck to playing predominantly as a key forward.
"I feel that we have got the depth to cover my loss and it will be more just a matter of reshuffling the side structurally," he said.
"I realise that I'm close to the end of my career and my role this season has changed to support the younger players."
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