ST KILDA defender Matt Maguire says he is determined to return from his latest foot injury.

Maguire had metatarsal surgery last week after experiencing discomfort in St Kilda’s round seven win over Richmond and will miss the rest of the season.

“I’ve got to get my head around the rehabilitation process which I’ve been through before. I know I can come back from this sort of thing,” Maguire said.

“It’s something I’ve had to deal with since the break. It has been an ongoing thing but it is nothing that many players wouldn’t play with throughout the season or during their careers.”

Maguire said his latest injury was linked to the series of setbacks he has experienced since breaking his leg against West Coast in 2006.

“I don’t think you could say anything’s unrelated. It is definitely a different bone but it is not unrelated.”

Maguire’s problems came to a head in the third quarter of the Richmond match when he had trouble moving his toes. After a quick trip to the Epworth hospital, x-rays revealed damage to the fourth metatarsal in his foot.

The defender said while he was frustrated with his injury battles, he never seriously considered retirement.

“At the age of 23, I’m still quite young. Even if the worst case scenario, I’d have a full year out of football but I’d still come back at 24 and have a good five or six years of football ahead of me,” he said.

“There are a lot of things going through your mind.

"I know that I’m able to overcome significant injury and in real terms this is not the worst injury I’ve had.”

Maguire said he believed he had the mental fortitude to get back to his best.

“This is my body. This is what I have to go through. You can get frustrated but to be able to deal with it well you have to be in the right frame of mind. Last week I was absolutely devastated.

"It is a tough thing to go through but you have to reset your goals and look to the future.”

“That’s why I keep persisting and keep giving myself an opportunity. If I didn’t think I could get back there I wouldn’t train up and do all the hard work.”