SURGERY is an option for St Kilda midfielder Blake Acres if rest doesn't heal his troublesome groin, but the club is optimistic that won't be necessary.
Acres, 22, has been one of the few bright spots for the Saints this season but a groin injury in recent weeks has limited his output.
He carried it in the fortnight leading up to the clash with Melbourne and was rested from that round seven game.
Acres returned to face Fremantle in his home state of Western Australia last week and while he collected 23 disposals and spent time manning superstar Docker Nat Fyfe, St Kilda coach Alan Richardson said the young gun hadn't delivered as expected.
"Blake's done a pretty good job for us. His form has fallen away. His ability to be able to execute some of his plays has fallen away," Richardson told reporters at RSEA Park on Friday.
"He hasn't quite been right. He's put his hand up for all the right reasons and wanted to keep playing but he's pretty sore.
"He'll have to have a bit of a break now. It depends on how he responds to the break but it's anything from four-to-six weeks with his groin."
An operation could follow a stint on the sidelines.
"If after rest it doesn't get right, then of course it (surgery) would be (an option), but no, at this stage our doctors are really confident that rest will get it done," Richardson said.
Star key defender Jake Carlisle should be back for next week's clash against reigning premier Richmond after being ruled out of Saturday's match with Collingwood after suffering concussion.
"He was reasonably close this week, you can imagine we'd want him playing, but we're pretty confident he'd be right the following week," Richardson said.
The outlook is similarly positive on luckless forward Paddy McCartin, who is recovering from his seventh concussion since the start of 2014.
"At this stage, he's going well. He has a little bit more testing this week but he's very likely to be available for selection," Richardson said.
"It might be that Paddy has to come back through the seconds. He won't want to. He'll want to come straight back into the seniors. We'll just have to wait and see how he responds after he ups his training load next week."
Tough backman Bailey Rice will debut against the Magpies. He was drafted as a father-son selection at No.49 in 2015 after his father Dean played for the Saints and Carlton.
Rice has the endorsement of Leigh Montagna, who retired at the end of last season.
"When it was that 'Joey' decided to retire, it was Bailey that he referenced to in his belief that we had a few that were ready to go, that were ready to take that position, and that made that decision much easier for 'Joey'," Richardson said.
Nathan Freeman has strung together two games in the VFL and has racked up 56 disposals in that time but needs to show more match fitness after returning from right hamstring surgery.
"He'll have to get a few games in a row, not unlike the backend of last year," Richardson said.
Meanwhile, forward Josh Battle needs to have more of an influence for Sandringham to push his way in for a second senior game.
"Josh is heading the right way. He's still got a little bit to work on. His form in the last couple of weeks has not quite been where we need it to be," Richardson said.
"We've got five blokes in the team that are under 10 games. We've got to make sure we get that balance right to give them the opportunity to perform."
