FRASER Gehrig yesterday had a plate and screws inserted into the right hand he broke in St Kilda's loss to the Kangaroos on Sunday, but the club holds some hope that its leading scorer might not even miss a match.

Saints football manager Ken Sheldon said last night that, at worst, Gehrig, who played out the round-11 game but later was found to have fractured his hand in a fourth-quarter marking contest, should be back for his side's contest with Richmond in 18 days.

"He's expected to be somewhere between two and three weeks before he returns to playing. Is he a chance for the West Coast (at Subiaco)? Perhaps so. But at this stage, it's likely the week after," Sheldon said.

"Fraser has got a wonderful record of recovering from these things."

Scans on Sunday night showed Gehrig, 31, had broken his fourth metacarpal but had received no tendon damage. The dual Coleman medallist was operated on yesterday morning. His 22 goals 18 behinds make him the Saints' top scorer for the year to date.

With 14 days off between their games, the Saints are hopeful that Robert Harvey (hamstring), Xavier Clarke (calf), Matthew Clarke (foot) and Leigh Fisher (hamstring) all could come back for the clash with the reigning premier.

"I think they'd all be looking to push for selection (in round 12), yeah," Sheldon said.

Aaron Hamill (knee), Michael Gardiner (foot), Matt Maguire (foot) are still some time away from a senior recall.

"They'd have to be getting some up-tempo training and game time," Sheldon said.

The Saints, who have lost four games straight, will attend regional football clinics today, then have five days off.

The team will reconvene at Harvey's testimonial dinner on Saturday night, before resuming training next Monday.