NICK Riewoldt has been ruled out of St Kilda's side to face Adelaide on Friday night at Adelaide Oval.

Riewoldt, 34, missed the round 10 loss to the Western Bulldogs with bone bruising in his left knee.

The Saints are coming off the bye, but the club has decided to give the former captain another week's rest.

It is understood he is likely to be available for the clash against North Melbourne the following Friday.

St Kilda coach Alan Richardson said Riewoldt was looking "much more unlikely than likely" to face the Crows.

"I didn't know it was as emphatic as that (Riewoldt ruled out), but it's looking unlikely," Richardson told Fox Footy on Monday night.

"We would've hoped by now that he was able to do a little bit more.

"The last message I had with the docs was, 'Yeah, it's unlikely but we'll give him every chance'."

Josh Bruce appears the obvious choice to return to the side after booting four goals in the first half of Sandringham's VFL match on Sunday at Victoria Park before sitting out the rest of the game.

If Bruce lines up against the Crows, he would be playing off a five-day break.

"It was planned for him, depending on how he was going, to play three quarters. We pulled him before three-quarter time and he spent the rest of the game on the bench," Sandringham coach Lindsay Gilbee told AFL.com.au on Sunday.

Riewoldt hyperextended his right knee late in the last quarter of the Saints' round one clash against Melbourne. He was stretchered off but missed just one game.

However, consecutive six-day breaks between rounds five and seven, including a trip to Tasmania to face Hawthorn, took its toll on the six-time club champion.

Richardson has since admitted Riewoldt could have been rested for the game against the Giants.

However, it is left knee that he is currently sidelined with, not the right knee that he had previous issues with.

It is the same joint that has given him concerns over the past few years and often required fluid to be drained from it.

He has kicked 17 goals from eight games this season to be his side's leading goalkicker.

His absence is a bigger blow in light of the Saints returning to the scene of their demoralising 88-point loss to the Crows at Adelaide Oval last year.

Bruce, who turns 25 on Thursday, was dropped after the round eight win against Carlton.

The athletic forward has booted 13 goals from his eight matches this year.