Jamie Cox said the players would vote for a captain in January and current skipper Nick Riewoldt had not yet expressly said whether he would want the job again.

Twenty-year-old Freeman was a number 10 draft pick for Collingwood in 2013, but he struggled with hamstring injuries and did not play a senior game for the 'Pies before requesting a trade to the Saints a few months ago.

Cox played down the injury, saying Freeman was not worried about the setback.

The midfielder would be back running on Monday.

"We'll do his rehab over Christmas with the view of getting into full training in the New Year," Cox said.

Riewoldt is taking a longer than usual break away from the club after his sister Madeleine died this year.

Cox said he was confident the captain would return to St Kilda fit.

"We know he'll come back in great shape, that's just the way he is, he always comes back in terrific shape," Cox said.

When asked whether Riewoldt would want to stay on as captain, Cox said he had not indicated that to the club yet.

"He's been such a terrific leader for our club, I'm sure he would but we'll deal with that ... once we've all had a good break."

Cox said the St Kilda players had been pushed hard in training this week, despite the heat.

He said he hoped the hot weather would benefit the group and was pleased with the work they had put in, singling out the second and third year players for particular praise.

"I reckon a lot of guys are getting through to the finish line to Christmas, just to have a bit of a break and a freshen up," he said.

Jack Lonie said he had suffered a minor quad injury recently, but had trained most sessions since returning to St Kilda after the end-of-season break.

The small forward was pick 41 in last year's draft and played 17 games for the Saints this year, earning a Rising Star nomination in the team's round 14 thrashing of Essendon.

Lonie said this year's pre-season training had been more difficult that during his first year at the club.

"They looked after the first years and made sure we were getting into it nice and easy, but this year's it's ramped up," he said.