ST KILDA champion Nick Riewoldt has been declared fit to face North Melbourne in a major boost for the under-pressure Saints, but Paddy McCartin's bid to lock-down a senior spot has hit another snag.  

Riewoldt has been battling bone bruising in his left knee and missed the past two losses to the Western Bulldogs and Adelaide.

However, the 34-year-old will return to take on the Roos in a must-win game at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.

"Nick Riewoldt has trained really well today and will play at the weekend. He is going really well, so that’s good news," general manager of football performance Jamie Cox told saints.com.au.

But former No.1 draft pick McCartin is facing a spell on the sidelines after pulling up with knee soreness from the Crows loss. 

"Paddy McCartin pulled up a little bit sore in the knee from the game on the weekend and didn’t get through training today. Unfortunately, Paddy is going to miss a week," Cox said. 

"He is likely to have a scan to see what he might have done. We’re hopeful it’s only a minor issue and he’ll only miss a very short amount of football."

McCartin's setback is another speed bump on a career that has been hampered by multiple concussion issues and form struggles. 

The 21-year-old, who has been unable to cement his spot in the Saints' best 22, was also a late withdrawal in round one due to hamstring awareness.

He played against West Coast and the Lions in rounds two and three – booting a combined 2.4 from 17 touches – before being dropped back to the VFL for five games.

After speculation about the strong-marking 194cm forward's future, he was recalled against Sydney in round nine and has played the past three matches, kicking one goal in each game. 

Meanwhile, the Saints are bracing for another stint out of the game for tall defender Hugh Goddard.

Goddard, who was taken at pick 21 in the same 2014 draft as McCartin, hurt his right foot playing in the VFL for Sandringham two weeks ago.

He will see a specialist on Thursday, and the Saints say the injury is unrelated to the Achilles he ruptured midway through last season.

"He looks to have damaged some of the tendons under his big toe; it’s certainly unrelated to his Achilles, which is good news," Cox said. 

"But the downside is that Hughie is going to catch up with the surgeon tomorrow just to get an update on the severity of his injury." 

The Saints have also lost defensive forward Nathan Wright for one-to-two weeks due to a shoulder injury suffered against the Crows.