St Kilda’s Jake Carlisle staring down the barrel of back surgery

St Kilda football manager Simon Lethlean says the club will explore every avenue possible before defender Jake Carlisle goes under the knife for back surgery.

Jake Carlisle is set to have back surgery. Picture: AAP

St Kilda could be dealt another pre-season blow with Jake Carlisle staring down the barrel of back surgery.

Carlisle will meet with a specialist to determine whether he needs to go under the knife to correct a debilitating disc problem.

The Saints defender hasn’t been able to train since early January and the injury has shown no sign of improvement.

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Jake Carlisle is set to have back surgery. Picture: AAP

“We need to assess whether surgery is going to be an option and if it is then that’s going to mean a significant chunk of his season is interrupted,” St Kilda football manager Simon Lethlean told SEN.

“I think if you’re going under the knife you’re certainly looking at three, four, five months (out).”

Lethlean said the club had tried everything to fix the problem.

“We’re not quite there (surgery) yet, yet but we certainly haven’t found a different alternative that’s making it better,” he said.

“Doctors try everything else before surgery. I think we’ll find out in the next couple of days what the path is going to be.

“Things aren’t improving.”

Surgery for Carlisle would be another cruel hit for the Saints, who have Dan Hannebery struggling with hamstring “awareness” and four-time best and fairest Jack Steven now on a break to deal with mental health issues.