St Kilda will be without star defender Jimmy Webster for Sunday afternoon's clash with Melbourne but captain Jarryn Geary remains in the mix.

Fellow backman Bailey Rice is also likely to face the Demons at the MCG after being concussed in the win over Gold Coast before the Saints' bye.

Webster, who turned 25 on Thursday, is out with a groin injury while Geary had been dealing with a left calf strain. 

"Jimmy won't play, which is disappointing. He's probably been our best player, or arguably our best player, for the year, so that’s disappointing," coach Alan Richardson said. 

"Geary is right in the mix. He'll need to train well. It's a pretty meaningful session today given that we don't play until Sunday. 

"Ricey's had a couple of injuries but he's had two weeks since the concussion. He'll need to train well today. He trained pretty positively on Tuesday so we'd expect him to be right."

Webster ran laps at training on Thursday at RSEA Park.

Rice, 21, had also been carrying general soreness from the loss to Sydney, rather than picking that issue up against the Suns.  

"It was actually the week before (Rice was hurt). Just a bit of general soreness so the bye came at a pretty good time for him," Richardson said.