St Kilda have given up hope of Dan Hannebery playing in round one and are prepared for the veteran to miss multiple AFL matches as they take a cautious approach with his return to full fitness.
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Hannebery has battled calf tightness in recent weeks and is yet to resume a full training load ahead of the meeting with Greater Western Sydney on March 21.
The 30-year-old has managed just 13 games in two seasons with the Saints because of a string of soft-tissue injuries and coach Brett Ratten stressed the club will not hurry Hannebery's recovery from his latest setback.
"He just got a little bit tight and that, so we've just taken it step-by-step with him and been quite patient with his build-up," Ratten told AAP on Tuesday.
"He won't play round one and we'll go from there.
"He's progressing OK, but we're not going to hurry.
"It's a long season and we don't want to re-injure it, so we're going to take our time with Dan.
"Whether he's right for round two or three, we'll just make it nice and easy.
"We want the continuity of him playing week in, week out ... so we'll be pretty patient."
Hannebery's setback has compounded St Kilda's injury woes as they hunt successive finals appearances for the first time in a decade.
Paddy Ryder is a good chance to play against GWS after missing last week's preseason fixture against Carlton because of a head knock, but fellow ruckman Rowan Marshall (foot stress injury) will miss out.
Tough midfielder Zak Jones (hamstring) is still racing time to be fit for round one, while captain Jarryn Geary (fractured leg) and Ryan Byrnes (hamstring) are out for extended periods.
They have been joined by James Frawley, who damaged a hamstring tendon early in the Blues clash and will miss two months.
Ben Paton (broken leg) will miss the entire season after a freak accident at training and Dylan Roberton announced his retirement this month due to health issues.
Australian Associated Press
