ST KILDA midfielder Luke Ball is not playing injured, but coach Ross Lyon says the 23-year-old midfielder does have to "manage" the effects of osteitis pubis.

On the day that Ball's teammates Nick Riewoldt and Nick Dal Santo signed three-year contracts, Lyon said he felt he'd been truthful when answering questions about Ball's condition. After struggling through 21 games last season with osteitis pubis, Ball conceded after last Friday night's two-point win over Adelaide that he was still battling groin pain.

Lyon, who told The Age last week Ball was not injured and "hasn't got osteitis pubis", said yesterday: "If you ask me again today, 'Is Luke Ball injured?' … my answer is, 'No, he's not injured'."

Following Ball's comments on Channel Ten's Before The Game on Saturday, when he said "it's all related to that dreaded term OP", Lyon said yesterday he wanted to clarify his own comments from last week.

"I just spoke to Luke and our physio and said, 'Well, what do you want me to put forward' and they said, 'Everyone's got to understand osteitis pubis is a condition'.

"It's a condition that you have and you manage," Lyon said, before adding he has regularly asked medical staff this year if Ball was injured and if he was fit enough to play.

"Has he had osteitis pubis? Yes. (Is he) injured with it at the moment? No.

"Hopefully, that will clarify it for all our supporters. I hope that clarifies it because … we're trying to be as transparent as we can."

Riewoldt and Dal Santo said they were thrilled to have signed deals that tie them to the club until the end of 2010.

"As far as I'm concerned, and I'm pretty sure Nick was the same, we never really wanted to leave the club," Riewoldt said.

"These things do take time, so there's always going to be that speculation (about other offers), but we're in for the long haul."