Saints key forward Paddy McCartin will not be rushed back to senior football as he recovers from a Lisfranc injury to his left foot.

The 2014 No. 1 draft pick could potentially return to senior football within a matter of weeks, but senior coach Alan Richardson today confirmed that the club is looking to take a more conservative approach.

"We're not going to rush him back and potentially risk injury given that we're not playing finals," Richardson said.

"These remaining games, they're really important to us. They're great opportunities for our team and for our club, and for the individuals within it, but we won't take a risk if we think there's any chance for further damage that would compromise his pre-season."

Richardson also confirmed that McCartin’s recovery has progressed slightly slower than initially anticipated, but he could return to training as early as next week.

WATCH: Injury Report

"He's still in the boot. We were hoping that he might be out of that by now, but it's not far off what the doctors thought," Richardson said.

"It'll then depend on how he responds once he's putting complete weight on it.

"Lisfranc, that's a tricky injury, so we've just got to wait and see how he responds, but it's probably a little bit slower than we hoped."