Max King waited 757 days to play AFL football again. His return lasted barely three quarters.

St Kilda confirmed on July 27, 2026 that the key forward strained his left hamstring during the third quarter of Sunday's Round 20 match against North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium and will miss the rest of the 2026 season. The Saints won the game, but the result was overshadowed by the sight of King leaving the ground with what the club later described as a season-ending strain. (ABC News, AFL.com.au)

King's previous AFL appearance was on June 30, 2024. That gap of just over two years was meant to end weeks ago. He played two VFL games — the second-tier competition clubs use to build players back to full fitness — but strained his hamstring in his second VFL hitout, in Round 6 of that competition. Scans confirmed a strain that sidelined him for six weeks and pushed his AFL return past the two-year mark. (AFL.com.au, St Kilda FC)

That earlier VFL weekend also cost the Saints Dan Butler and Paddy Dow to injury, compounding what was already a disrupted year for the club's list. (St Kilda FC)

St Kilda general manager of football Lenny Hayes fronted the media on July 27 and did not hide the club's frustration. He called the latest setback "incredibly disappointing" and said the focus would shift to getting King through a full pre-season ahead of 2027. (ABC News)

The 25-year-old is contracted to St Kilda until the end of 2032, so there is no question about his future at the club. The question is whether his body can hold up to the demands of a full AFL season after three hamstring strains in 2026 alone — two in the VFL and one at the top level.

For St Kilda, the timing is a blow to a side still in the fight. The Saints sat 10th on the AFL ladder at the time of reporting, within reach of the finals wildcard places with rounds remaining. Losing a key forward — the tall target a side builds its attack around — narrows coach Ross Lyon's options at the pointy end of the season. (ABC News)

King's story is a hard one for any football fan to watch. A talented tall forward, drafted high and earmarked as a long-term pillar of the Saints' forward line, now faces another pre-season of rehabilitation before he can test himself again. The club's patient approach — two VFL games before an AFL recall — could not prevent a third strain in the same hamstring in the space of a few months.

Hayes and the Saints will now plan for 2027. King will not play another AFL game this year.