Star St Kilda forward Justin Koschitzke will miss Saturday's preseason cup clash with Essendon at Wangaratta through injury.
Saints coach Scott Watters said that Koschitzke had been withdrawn from the match because of slight calf soreness and was a week away from returning.
Small forward Ahmed Saad has also been pulled, with the club anxious to manage his workload effectively.
Watters said Koschitzke was poised to play at peak form this season and his withdrawal was a minor hiccup.
"It's more soreness," Watters said.
"He trained during the week ... but he's just missed a couple of training sessions, so we erred on the side of caution."
Watters said Koschitzke would complete a full training program next week and would line up in the game against West Coast.
The forward-cum-ruckman had an interrupted 2011, playing only half the season due to an ankle injury, but Watters believes the 29-year-old is set for a standout season.
"He's lean and his running capacity is as good as it's been for two or three years.
"Like a number of our players he's had a really strong, consistent pre-season which stands him in good stead."
He said the club was acting cautiously with Saad, a 22-year-old drafted from the VFL side Northern Bullants who only started playing the code five years ago after switching from soccer.
"We're probably wary of Ahmed playing all four NAB Cup games," he said.
"We think he's in contention for round one if he continues to hold his form so he's going to need a rest at some point.
"More than likely he'll play the following week."
Essendon will take a much stronger side into this weekend's game after losing both their round one games and have included captain Jobe Watson, veteran Dustin Fletcher and Michael Hurley.
Hurley missed the opening round of the pre-season competition with a hamstring strain and Bombers coach James Hird said the forward would play as much of the game as possible.
"We'll wait and see, it just depends on how often the ball is down there," Hird said.
"Hopefully it's down there the whole half and he can play a half but if it's not he might play three quarters.
"But this will be his first hit-out and he's been back training for a month so we're confident that he's up for a full game but whether he plays a half, three quarters or a full game we'll wait and see till the day."
Hurley has not committed to Essendon beyond this year and is a major target for Greater Western Sydney.
AAP
Tags: australian-football-league, sport, st-kilda-3182 First posted March 02, 2012 17:07:29