St Kilda coach Ross Lyon has declared tagger Steven Baker ready to return to action against Port Adelaide on Saturday night, but Lyon was equivocal on the immediate playing future of ruckman Michael Gardiner.

Baker took part in the Saints' NAB Cup and NAB Challenge campaign but hasn’t played a senior match since being suspended for seven weeks for charging Fremantle Jeff Farmer in Round 20 last season.

But Sam Gilbert's shoulder injury which is likely to keep him sidelined for the next couple of months may prove opportune for Baker.

"He's ready to play and I'm really keen to play him," Lyon said of Baker ahead of training at Moorabbin on Tuesday.

"He's a best and fairest winner and obviously we've lost a backman in Gilbert."

"He's very fit player and he's mentally tough … his fitness is not an issue. We respect him and value him."

Gardiner, who has missed three matches with a calf strain, would seem to be the logical replacement for the club's No.1 ruckman Steven King, who will miss the next fortnight with a hamstring.

But Lyon declared that neither he, nor Fraser Gehrig, is guaranteed selection and that there are alternatives for both.

"Koschitzke rucks, we've got (Michael) Rix, young Ben McEvoy played really well in the seconds, our first round draft pick, and Jason Blake can ruck so we don't think there a shortage of ruckmen there," he said.

Lyon said midfielder/forward Adam Schneider, who hasn’t played since Round 3, had had a 'hiccup' in his recovery from a hamstring strain and would miss another week.

Lyon said he was pleased with the Saints' 'team defence' and midfield pressure last week against Essendon, but the third-quarter lapse which allowed the Bombers to pile on six goals straight was a timely lesson going into this week's clash at AAMI Stadium.

"In a sense it's a benchmark game for us to be able to go interstate and compete and put on a good show and try and get the points," he said.

"It's going to be a really difficult game but one we're up for."

Asked whether Port's recent fadeouts - they squandered a 47 point lead against the Brisbane Lions at AAMI Stadium two weeks ago and conceded the last six goals to West Coast at Subiaco last Sunday - were something the Saints could exploit, Lyon said: "It's not really an issue for me".

"I think it's a really small sample, isn’t it? Has it got any statistical relevance? I'm not sure that it has - I'm not a mathematician, but two is a really small sample."

"It's something they'll be concerned about … but I wouldn’t read too much into it."