MITCH Clark will miss Geelong's clash with Richmond on Saturday but the soreness plaguing his "good" foot is not expected to keep him out for long.

There was concern Clark had aggravated previous issues with his right foot when the Cats announced their team on Thursday night for the clash at the MCG.

But the club confirmed the 27-year-old had developed soreness in his left foot after last Sunday's loss to North Melbourne and would miss as a precaution.

"Mitch is a player we view as a long-term player for the club so after his foot pulled up sore following the Kangaroos game we decided to not take the risk in the short-term," football manager Steve Hocking told the Cats' website.

Clark had a torrid run with right foot problems in his final years at Melbourne.

In 2012, he broke down with the Lisfranc joint injury in round 13 and didn't start running again until November that year.

Then the following season, he played the first four games before needing a screw removed from the battered foot.

He didn't play again in 2013 and then retired in April, 2014 without playing another game for the Demons, after being diagnosed with clinical depression.

Former St Kilda ruckman Rhys Stanley will miss with soreness after playing three games for his new club.

"With Rhys having such an interrupted preseason we felt it important to manage his loads with a cautious eye this early in the season," Hocking said.

"The good news is there is no significant issue with either player."

The Cats will also give Mathew Stokes another week to recover from the Achilles soreness that kept him out of last Sunday's game.

But they've regained defender Tom Lonergan from the nasty concussion he sustained against Gold Coast, and have named Dawson Simpson and Shane Kersten as the tall replacements for Clark and Stanley.

First-year midfielder Nakia Cockatoo has been omitted after playing the first four games of the season.