ST KILDA is confident Nick Riewoldt has not suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury, with the champion forward set to undergo scans on Sunday after his right knee buckled in Saturday's clash against Melbourne.     

Riewoldt was taken from the ground on a stretcher in the dying minutes of Saturday's clash after injuring his knee when changing direction in an innocuous-looking incident at the Lockett end of Etihad Stadium.    

The 34-year-old said he feared the worst initially, but testing from club doctors in the rooms had all but cleared him of what could have been a career-ending injury.

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"I heard a big pop and there was pain and I reacted to it," Riewoldt told Fox Footy.  

"I thought that (ACL) was what I'd done.

"The docs are pretty happy the testing that they've done (shows) that it's not an ACL, but there's clearly something in there.

"It's stiff and sore now … I gave it a pretty good wrench. 

"It looks like I've dodged a bullet". 

Coach Alan Richardson said Riewoldt would need scans, which are likely to take place in the next 24 hours.  

"The doctors are saying it's pretty stable … they need scans, that's where it sits, but it's much more positive than what it could have been, that's for sure," the coach said.  

"We're incredibly relieved. It's only early and we've got to get scans, but it looks more positive than it might have been." 

Riewoldt, who kicked four goals in a disappointing loss for the Saints, played through a chronic knee joint injury through much of his career but had put that behind him in 2016. 

The champion forward handed the captaincy to Jarryn Geary in 2017 and shaped as a midfield weapon for the Saints this season, spending significant time playing on a wing.