ST KILDA will be without captain Nick Riewoldt and midfielder Leigh Montagna for this Saturday’s Anzac Day match against Carlton in Wellington.
Riewoldt was a late withdrawal last Friday night with a new calf injury, while Montagna hasn’t played since St Kilda’s season opener against GWS due to a knee complaint.
UPDATED: Injury list
GM of Football Performance Jamie Cox said putting Riewoldt through a rigorous fitness test could have damaged his calf further.
“Nick’s injury is probably at the stage where we thought to test him for this week would put him in danger of doing further damage,” Cox said.
“We’ve withdrawn him early and he won’t be making the trip to Wellington.”
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Even if the Saints were due to play at Etihad Stadium this weekend, the 32-year-old still wouldn’t take the field.
“He just hasn’t quite come up this week,” Cox said.
“If we were playing at home, he wouldn’t have been available either unfortunately. It’s irrespective of travel.
“We can’t promise next week but we’ll keep an eye on him. He’s obviously desperate to play as soon as possible and we’ll be desperate to have him back when he can. He will be a week by week proposition now until he emerges.”
Fellow veteran Montagna faces a similar prognosis following a minor knee operation prior to round one.
“Joey is the same [as Nick],” Cox said.
“He hasn’t come up this week which we weren’t overly surprised about. He’s very much week by week.
“There was a lot of emotion around round one as well and he absolutely pushed himself hard to get up and played a terrific game in round one. Hindsight is a great thing in footy but he probably did do some damage there which has seen him miss a couple of weeks.”
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In better news on the injury front, Sam Gilbert will return to football this weekend via the VFL following a long-standing foot injury sustained in last year’s round 22 clash with Richmond last year.
The 28-year-old will play for Sandringham against Williamstown at Burbank Oval on Sunday.
“It’s great news,” Cox said.
“Sam has obviously had long rehab and will come back for Sandy this week which is really good news.”
