INJURY-HIT St Kilda forward Paddy McCartin may not return this season as he deals with a Lisfranc injury that is recovering slower than initially expected.

McCartin, 22, is still wearing a moon boot on his left foot after he was hurt in the opening minutes of the Saints' round 16 loss to Port Adelaide.

Given the 15th-placed Saints are out of finals contention, coach Alan Richardson told reporters at RSEA Park on Thursday the club wouldn't unnecessarily push the No.1 selection from the 2014 NAB AFL Draft to return.

"We're not going to rush him back and potentially risk injury given that we we're not playing finals," Richardson said.

"These remaining games, they're really important to us. They're great opportunities for our team and for our club, and for the individuals within it, but we won't take a risk if we think there's any chance for further damage that would compromise his pre-season."

The injury is a sprain of the Lisfranc ligament, and the Saints expect McCartin to train next week. How his foot reacts to that will help determine whether the forward will play again in 2018.

"He's still in the boot. We were hoping that he might be out of that by now, but it's not far off what the doctors thought," Richardson said.

"It'll then depend on, once he's putting complete weight on it, how he responds.

"Lisfranc, that's a tricky injury, so we've just got to wait and see how he responds, but it's probably a little bit slower than we hoped."

Gun defender Jimmy Webster will miss Friday's clash with Richmond at Etihad Stadium after the scar tissue in his right groin flared up last week against Carlton, but Seb Ross (gastro) and Josh Battle (fractured right eye socket) are set to return.

Midfielder Blake Acres amassed 24 disposals and nine tackles for Sandringham in his second game back from a groin issue and is physically fine, but whether he is picked is another matter.

"We've still got to wait on a couple. Even though the game's tomorrow, today was good to have another hit-out. We'll finalise things in a couple of hours," Richardson said.

"(Acres is) in the mix. The reality is the guys got it done last week. We're pretty happy with, certainly the positions that he plays, those that played in those positions, so it's unlikely that there's going to be a lot of change. But he's going about it the right way and giving himself the opportunity to get back in."

Meanwhile, Nathan Freeman strung his fifth straight VFL match together after returning from a left shoulder injury.

"I thought it was a positive performance. It wasn't a performance that was going to knock someone out of the team given that we had a pretty good performance at AFL level, but not unlike Blake Acres, he's building and he's heading the right way," Richardson said.

The coach was asked whether he wanted to see the luckless 23-year-old, who hasn't played since being drafted in 2013, make his long-awaited debut.

"I would. We all know his story. He's had a really challenging period. His attitude's just been brilliant. His perseverance has been acknowledged often by his teammates. We'd like to see him get an opportunity," Richardson said.

"He's starting to play the right way. He's body's really holding up, which is probably the biggest issue, and if he's in good form and an opportunity opens up, then he'll get a chance."

The clash with Richmond will be the third Maddie's Match, which seeks to raise money and awareness for Maddie Riewoldt's Vision and bone marrow failure syndromes.