ST KILDA is expecting Nick Riewoldt to be ready to play in round one despite the captain not appearing in any pre-season games.

The 32-year-old has been back at the club for about two weeks since the tragic passing of his younger sister Madeleine on February 24.

He hasn't been named to play in the Saints' final NAB Challenge hit-out against Hawthorn on Thursday night, and wasn't at the club's training run at Moorabbin on Wednesday afternoon.

NAB Challenge squads: Saints v Hawks

But the Saints are confident their skipper will be physically fine to face Greater Western Sydney on April 5 in their season opener – if he wants to.

"His fitness won't be an issue. He'll put his hand up whenever he's ready, and that will be the right time for him to do that," Saints director of coaching Danny Sexton told AFL.com.au on Wednesday.

"His training has been building a fair bit.

"He's been spending more time around the club, around the players again, he's been through all the meetings we've had and he's doing all the training."

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While the Saints are confident the supremely fit Riewoldt will be able to face the Giants, Sexton concedes they're not sure if he'll be mentally prepared to return to the field in just over a fortnight.

"It's really hard to know, unless you've been in that position yourself, you just don't know," he said.

"What we do know about Nick is he's very, very thoughtful and professional and he'll make his return when he's ready to do that.

"When Nick's ready to play, he'll play."

Sexton said the club believed young forward Josh Saunders had escaped hamstring damage in a training incident this week.

Saunders will miss Thursday night's game with soreness, similar to what Dylan Roberton developed after the game against the Brisbane Lions.

But Sexton said they had reviewed some of their procedures after a sudden spate of soft tissue injuries claimed Jack Billings, Shane Savage, Seb Ross and Farren Ray in the space of two weeks.

"We went and had a look at it and it was a really heavy load that week going into the Brisbane game, and then we travelled and there was heat," he said.

"There were a lot of things in the mix.

"We thought we had done a heavy load but we've since adjusted some recovery protocols and we'll have some more testing to highlight when guys can be backed off and when they're good to do the whole lot.

"It wasn't good to go through but we've unearthed some things and think we're on top of it now."

While Ross and Ray are facing nearly three months out after surgery to repair their injuries, Savage and Billings could face the Giants.

But Sexton admitted the timeframe would be tight.

"They're starting one-on-one training really soon … they're going to be close for round one,” he said.

"There's still two weeks to go so there's a lot of things they need to get through but they're close to returning to training."

Leigh Montagna will captain the side against the Hawks on Thursday while Jarryn Geary, Billy Longer and David Armitage will be rested.

Geary, Armitage and Savage joined Sam Gilbert and Arryn Siposs to watch Thursday's squad train at Wednesday's fan-friendly open session at Moorabbin.

The light "twilight" run featured live music and activities for young fans with the Saints continuing to make a strong effort to engage with supporters in their heartland.

Nick Riewoldt is a $516,000 forward in NAB AFL Fantasy this year. Set up a live draft and take on your mates in Fantasy Elite now.