St Kilda has confirmed forward Liam Ryan will miss the clash with Carlton after a stint in hospital.

The Saints are on the verge of squaring their win-loss ledger for the first time this season as they prepare to take on the beleaguered Blues at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night.

But the absence of off-season recruit Ryan is a blow after he was hurt in a collision with Reuben Ginbey in St Kilda's 101-point thrashing of West Coast last round.

"He had a little burst blood vessel and it swelled up, so we had to check him out and make sure it was nothing sinister," Saints coach Ross Lyon said on Thursday.

"He had an overnight stay in hospital just to be observed.

"There was a little bit of loss of blood with that blood vessel, but he's stable and he's fine."

The Saints' VFL clash with Carlton on Saturday and could mark the return of Lance Collard, who has served his suspension over a homophobic slur against an opponent.

"He's available to play, as long as he gets through training. He trained really hard while he was away in Perth," Lyon said.

"He was over there with his grandmother, who had a significant part in raising Lance, and she had some health stuff that he was supporting her with.

"He did the work and supported his grandma, which is great."

Collard was initially banned for seven weeks after being found guilty of calling a VFL opponent a "f***ing f****t", but controversially had the penalty reduced to two weeks on appeal.

The AFL sacked appeals board chairman Will Houghton KC after the verdict and reasoning flew in the face of the league's crackdown on homophobia.

Collard was also banned for six games in 2024 after admitting to using the same slur on-field.

Australian Associated Press