ST KILDA remains confident Jack Steven will play out the season despite the midfielder still suffering from an unusual stress reaction in his thigh.
The 24-year-old last played in round 16 against Carlton before being overcome by soreness in his upper leg.
While he's been named to face Gold Coast on Saturday night at Metricon Stadium, coach Alan Richardson admitted the problem wouldn't be entirely resolved until he could completely rest.
"We haven't absolutely nailed what will be the best remedy for him but we'll have the opportunity when the season's over to give him a really long break and perhaps send him to [get] second opinions," Richardson said on Friday.
"At this stage, we're really comfortable and confident he'll get through the remainder of the season without any further damage to it.
"It's something he's had for a while and to be honest, at this stage, the treatment has been rest.
"It's been an interesting one for Jack."
Steven, fresh from winning last year's best and fairest in just his fifth season, has had a challenging year.
He missed the first three rounds of the season with a fracture in his right sesamoid bone in his foot that developed in the pre-season.
Richardson said Steven had again applied himself to his rehabilitation program and had put himself in the best position to return to the field this week.
"He's incredible driven young man, he wants to be a great player, he wants to make the St Kilda footy club a better performing team," he said.
"He's been frustrated but he's been incredible – his appetite to get his body right, he's embraced everything the medicos have asked of him so he's given himself another opportunity to come straight back into the team.
"He's only missed three so his focus will be to finish off in a really positive manner and hope to build on the performance of the team from last week."
The Saints received a boost this week with defenders Jarryn Geary and Sean Dempster agreeing to two and one-year contract extensions.
Richardson said there would be more "pretty significant announcements" in the coming weeks and it was encouraging to see the players buying into the direction the club was taking.
"It's really positive, I think the players are excited about the future of the footy club and not just on the field but off the field," he said.
"[CEO] Matt Finnis coming on board has been a real bonus and has the potential to set us up for a long time.
"They're two great players, great leaders, and have done some enormous work for the club up to this stage, and they're really keen to make sure they play a significant role in the rebuild and journey, and we're so pleased they've committed again."
The Saints were inspired by the retirement of club champion Lenny Hayes two weeks ago to record an unlikely 58-point win over Fremantle.
Richardson said that game had been analysed closely given it was such a turnaround from the team's previous form.
He said the challenge for the players was to replicate the effort they brought against the Dockers and ensure the performance wasn't a one off.
"The club has been incredibly positive," he said.
"Because we've been so transparent with the journey we're on and that we're going to get inconsistent performances, whether that be from week to week or in games and quarters, what [the last game] did was raise the bar.
"Certainly we're comfortable with that. We think you can't just turn up and do it one week and let yourself down the next.
"That will be our challenge – to get it done – but there's no doubt the mood around the club was much more positive [after the win]."
