St Kilda superstar Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera has been struck down with a potential season-ending hamstring injury in a disastrous blow.
Wanganeen-Milera pulled up badly on the wing just minutes into St Kilda’s clash with Carlton on Sunday night as a collective gasp when around Marvel Stadium.
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The Saints ace limped from the ground clutching his hamstring and went straight down to the rooms.
He was later shown on the bench with ice on his hamstring and ruled out for the rest of the game by St Kilda.
“He’s up pulled! Saints fans don’t want to see that, that’s a shocking sight!,” Fox Footy caller Matt Hill said.
With only two games left in the home and away season and St Kilda fighting to play finals, Wanganeen-Milera could well miss the rest of the season.
If nothing else, it sets a tall task for Ross Lyon’s side in a must-win game against the Blues, with the winner to claim 10th spot on the ladder.
Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera did his hamstring minutes into Carlton vs St Kilda.Source: FOX SPORTS
Adding to their woes were injury concerns for Mason Wood (calf), Brad Hill (knee), Liam Ryan (shoulder) and Tom De Koning (shoulder) in a horror run of carnage in the first half.
Wood was the only other Saint ruled out for the rest of the night.
Hill’s setback initially looked more concerning, with the 298-gamer grabbing his knee after a contest in the second quarter and grimacing in pain on the ground for some time.
The veteran went straight down the rooms in fears of a serious injury, before he re-emerged on the bench later to do run throughs and eventually went back into the game.
The setback to Wanganeen-Milera, who was under an injury cloud this week with a hip issue, leaves a huge void in St Kilda’s side as the club’s most important player.
“That’s the wildcard story right there as he walks off the ground. No footy fan likes to see this,” Demons legend Garry Lyon said.
“That’s your old fashioned hamstring. That’s no good at all.
“You can feel the crowd here, the air has gone out of it from a St Kilda point of view.
“They’ll have to get on with the job, but that is the story of the night.”
Lyon added: “This is where the leaders have to get involved. You can’t help but notice when someone of his presence goes off the ground.
“Such an important part of it. Challenge is in front of them.”
Triple premiership Lion Jonathan Brown noted the Saints were also without Sam Flanders and Jack Sinclair, who played in St Kilda’s 39 point win over Carlton back in Round 8.
“All those boys off halfback were able to move the ball with great precision,” Brown said.
“Now, all them aren’t out there. That’s a challenge. Bad hamstring, it looks like, straight off the field.”