St Kilda coach Alan Richardson says veteran and former skipper Nick Riewoldt will miss Saturday's clash against the Western Bulldogs because of a knee injury and nothing else.
The 34-year-old will sit out the Etihad Stadium match with bone-bruising suffered in their heavy loss to Sydney last round, and not because he is being rested.
It's his left knee, not the knee that he hyper-extended in round one.
While it may not have helped him avoid the current injury, Richardson said Riewoldt could have sat out their win over Greater Western Sydney.
"He probably wasn't at his best that game," Richardson said.
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"He still did a reasonable job for us structurally, but didn't have a great influence on the game.
"In hindsight, we possibly could have rested him then.
"He was keen to play and we were keen for him to play but this one's been taken out of his hands and our hands as he's just a bit too sore."
But the coach said it was good timing because it meant Riewoldt could take some extra time off to recover, with the Saints having the bye next round before taking on Adelaide.
With Riewoldt out, Richardson admitted he was tempted to rush Josh Bruce straight back into the side after he was dropped from their line-up to face Sydney.
However, he didn't do enough in the VFL to earn a recall, kicking only one goal.
"Structurally, it probably makes a little bit of sense, but just his form prior to him going out and then again on the weekend wasn't quite where it needed to be," Richardson said.
"We're happy with the group we've got in front of the ball.
"It'll give us a different look - there's probably a little more speed and energy given that we're going to be a bit smaller but that's what we think is the best way to go against the Dogs."
Richardson said he was looking forward to Paddy McCartin having more of an impact after kicking only one goal in his return to the senior side last week while ruckman Billy Longer may also spend some time up forward.
