ST KILDA defender Steven Baker is unlikely to play against Collingwood this week as the Saints fight a spate of injury concerns.

Baker was expected to make a quick recovery after injuring his knee in the match against Richmond last week, but coach Ross Lyon says the knee has healed slower than expected.

“He is in severe doubt. We were more confident early in the week that he would play,” Lyon said.

“He banged his knee and it is still bleeding internally. He is not as fluid as we’d like – that may change later in the week but at this stage it is more unlikely than likely.”

Baker joins Nick Riewoldt, Xavier Clarke and Matt Maguire as casualties from the narrow victory over the Tigers.

Clarke and Riewoldt are expected back in a matter of weeks but Maguire has been ruled out for the season after injuring his foot.

Riewoldt’s absence places more importance on Justin Koschitzke’s role in the forward line, but Lyon said Koschitzke did not necessarily play better with Riewoldt out of the frame.

“We’d love to have Nick and Justin playing but the facts are Nick won’t be there and Justin will. I don’t think Nick Riewoldt inhibits anyone in our team playing well,” Lyon said.

Nick Dal Santo is expected to play after he was rested for the Hall of Fame tribute match, while Lyon said ruckman Steven King was also a chance to return from a hamstring strain.

The Saints coach said he would consider promoting a rookie now that Maguire is on the long-term injury list, with Robert Eddy and Andrew McQualter presenting the strongest cases for promotion.

“There’s a couple there but I’m not sure (promotion) is necessarily going to happen but that is an option for us,” he said.

Lyon said the Saints were eagerly anticipating the clash against the Magpies this Friday night.

“Friday night football is a really big stage against a powerhouse Melbourne club - a team that finished top four last year. Everyone talks about an eight-point game but if we were to win we could put a distance between us and Collingwood.”