Phillipou, who was the star of St Kilda's 2025 pre-season spotlight video is now facing 10-12 weeks on the sidelines. The 20-year-old has been working extremely hard in the off-season and was tipped to make a big leap in his third year with the Saints but will likely have to wait months in recovery now.
Phillipou pulled up sore from training last Friday and monitored it over the weekend before the club advised him to get scans on Monday. Unfortunately, the scans confirmed a stress fracture in his foot, which St Kilda and their football manager David Misson confirmed on Tuesday.
"This is an extremely disappointing development for Mattaes," David Misson said.
"It was clear he'd taken the lessons he learned last year into his off-season and came back ready to attack 2025.
"Mattaes pulled up a bit sore on Friday, so we monitored his recovery over the weekend. His pain was still present on Monday, so we sent him off for scans that confirmed the diagnosis.
"He'll be on crutches for the next couple of weeks, then we're looking at 10-12 weeks of rehabilitation and reloading after that.
"It's a tough pill to swallow, but Mattaes' maturity and commitment is far beyond his years, and we're sure he'll tackle this period with the professionalism we've come to expect from him."
After playing 32 straight games following his debut, Phillipou was dropped to the VFL and suited up for Sandringham in six matches in the middle of the 2024 season. Ross Lyon then recalled him later in the season to play in the midfield, where he averaged 23 disposals and a goal in the last four games of the year.
The South Australian boy who was picked No.10 in the 2022 draft, finished fourth in St Kilda’s 3 km time trial behind only club speedsters Darcy Wilson, Hugo Garcia, and Bradley Hill.
Phillipou will join St Kilda’s ruckman Rowan Marshall, who is also in doubt to miss round 1 with a stress fracture in his pelvis.
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