CARLTON will be boosted by the return of Chris Yarran for the clash against St Kilda, however Simon White is likely to miss with a suspected leg fracture.

White, named at centre half-back, is expected to be replaced in the team by the impressive Matthew Watson, who was Carlton's first-round draft pick last year.

Yarran, 20, missed last Friday's gutsy win over of the Sydney Swans with a hamstring strain, but coach Brett Ratten said the damaging half-back had ticked every box in his recovery and would be clear to play against the Saints on Monday night.

The third-placed Blues will also see Matthew Kreuzer play in the VFL next week.

Kreuzer hasn't played since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament against Fremantle in round 13 of last season and news of his imminent return will be music to the ears of Carlton fans everywhere.

While Ratten is understandably delighted to be regaining his most important big man, the coach cautioned against expecting too much, too soon from the 21-year-old.

"If you think Matthew Kreuzer is going to come in, whether he plays forward, ruck or whatever, and dominate games of football then I think that would be very unfair on [him]," Ratten said from Visy Park on Wednesday. 

"There's no doubt about his effort when he plays. If anyone will give his all every week it's him, he's an outstanding contributor in that side of the game, but he's going to take a bit of time.

"It might not be the first week or the second week, but he's going to take a month of footy to get a handle on the speed and he's going to make a few blues, but his effort won't change.

"He might not get as much of the ball as he did before his injury, but we'll see how he goes."

Kreuzer is pencilled in to play for VFL affiliate the Northern Bullants against Frankston on May 14, but the club doesn't have an ideal AFL return date in mind and will continue to take a cautious approach with the former No.1 draft pick.

Six games into the 2011 campaign, Ratten has defied pre-season critics who had him tabbed as a coach under pressure.

The Blues' only loss has come at the hands of premiership favourites Collingwood and Ratten is delighted by his team's improvement and consistency in harder-edged areas of the game like contested ball and tackling.

"I don't think we've been beaten in tackles in six games this year," he said.

"When you've played the likes of Collingwood and Sydney, I think that's a credit to the group.

"When you look at teams that play in finals, it's one area of the game they never fall away in and this year it's been really encouraging.

"I think as a group we look a bit more mentally strong and maybe a bit more mature because our list is getting a little bit more experience on it. I think we're minimising the drop-offs in our games."

St Kilda hasn't come close to replicating the sort of football that delivered a Grand Final berth last year, but Ratten remains wary of the Saints despite Adelaide handing them their third loss in five games last week.

"We don't change our view on St Kilda. I think when you look at their scoring shots the other night, they had one more than Adelaide," he said.

"With [better] conversion they would have been right in that game. We've been in similar situations this year when we haven't kicked the ball through the goals and it puts you under pressure.

"I think they're extremely dangerous when you look at Brendon Goddard, Nick Riewoldt and Stephen Milne who can really score.

"We know what Sam Fisher and Sam Gilbert can do from a rebounding point of view and if they're getting the ball outside to Leigh Motagna and Nick Dal Santo they can really hurt you so we'll have to be at the top of our game."

Former Demon Brock McLean appears certain to remain in the VFL this week as he works back into form after a disrupted pre-season, but Ratten is pleased with the midfielder's progress.