Injury-ravaged Carlton will have to beat St Kilda without Charlie Curnow to seal an AFL finals spot after the gun forward failed to overcome an ankle injury.

Dashing small forward Zac Williams (hamstring tightness) will also miss the game after he was withdrawn on Friday evening, compounding Carlton's injury woes.

Curnow had been named on Thursday to return for Sunday's game at Marvel Stadium, but was officially ruled out on Friday.

It's a hammer blow to Carlton's hopes of locking in their top-eight berth.

Spearhead Curnow has 57 goals in 21 games while Williams has kicked 15 goals in 18 games and provided crucial speed and forward pressure.

Mitch McGovern (hamstring) was named but also appears unlikely to get up.

Carlton can seal finals with a win, but a loss to the in-form Saints will give Fremantle a chance to leapfrog them.

"I'll start with the bad news, Charlie's not playing. So that's the not-so-great news," coach Michael Voss said.

"We sort of thought that he might be able to pull up pretty well from some of the things that he did the other day, but he hasn't pulled up as well as what we expected.

"So we'll just make that call now and obviously it gives us an opportunity to be able to lock in on what our forward mix is going to be. So, obviously banking in that we can get the job done a couple of times in a row."

Harry McKay (quad), Jack Martin (hamstring), Lachie Fogarty (collarbone), Jordan Boyd (adductor), Tom De Koning (foot/lung), Adam Cerra (hamstring) and Matt Cottrell (shoulder) are also sidelined.

Voss wouldn't rule Sam Docherty - who suffered a third ACL tear in March - out of making a comeback in finals if the Blues make it.

Brodie Kemp, who kicked four goals against the Eagles, will stay in attack but the Blues believe Curnow will be fine to play in the first week of the finals if Carlton qualify.

"It's something that he's obviously had to manage for a little while, but just feel like we just need to give it that little extra (time to) settle so it can settle down a little bit more," he said.

"But that'll be three, four weeks, after his last incident. So I feel pretty confident that obviously the best-case scenario getting through and playing, that he'll be fit and available."

McGovern (hamstring) didn't train with the main group and clearly appears in some doubt to play.

"We'll give him every opportunity to be able to get up," Voss said.

Corey Durdin dislocated his shoulder against West Coast and is also touch-and-go.

Defender Adam Saad has been named to return after a week out with a "very low-grade" hamstring injury with Voss saying Carlton had opted not to risk him on a flight to Perth.

"He'll play," Voss said.

A Test for Saad and Curnow's Fitness

Carlton defender Mitch McGovern appears in a race against the clock to play against St Kilda, while Adam Saad and Charlie Curnow will have to prove their fitness to return for the crunch game.

McGovern experienced hamstring tightness in the Blues' win over West Coast on Sunday.

Curnow (ankle) and Saad (hamstring) were also listed as "tests" for Sunday's clash at Marvel Stadium, after a week on the sidelines.

Orazio Fantasia (calf) could also push to return while Corey Durdin (shoulder) faces a fitness test after he was injured against the Eagles.

But Harry McKay (quad) and Jack Martin (hamstring) are still listed as a week away.

The Blues can seal their finals berth with a win on Sunday.

Treacy's Knee Injury Keeps Him Out of Fremantle's Finals Push

Fremantle will have to beat Port Adelaide without Josh Treacy to keep their slim AFL finals hopes alive.

Star forward Treacy, who has already missed two games with a PCL injury, and skipper Alex Pearce (arm) will return in finals if the Dockers have results go their way, then beat the Power on Sunday.

Fremantle require either North Melbourne to beat Hawthorn, GWS to beat the Bulldogs or Carlton to lose to St Kilda.

"(Treacy's) knee has been a little bit unpredictable in that he's still in an acute phase of healing, and it's just carrying a bit of an effusion (swelling), which is what is holding him back," Fremantle high performance manager Phil Merriman said.

"Everything else checks out really well, so the plan will be, if we are able to continue our season into the finals, to have him available for week one."

Fremantle are confident ruckman Sean Darcy (knee) will be fit to face Port.

Port trio Mitch Georgiades (quad), Todd Marshall (concussion) and Lachie Jones (achilles) all face fitness tests.

Bulldogs' Ruckman Tim English Unlikely to Face GWS

Western Bulldogs ruckman Tim English is "more unlikely than likely" to return from an ankle injury in time to tackle GWS big man Kieren Briggs in Ballarat on Sunday.

The Bulldogs will be without small forward Rhylee West for at least a week after he broke his jaw against North Melbourne and required surgery.

The club said West was substituted for tactical reasons before scans revealed the damage to his jaw.

Hawthorn's Injury Concerns

Hawthorn will be without gun midfielder Will Day (partially dislocated collarbone) for at least a week, with no timeline on his return yet.

Defender Changkuoth Jiath will miss a third week with calf tightness while Jack Scrimshaw is no guarantee to face the Kangaroos after requiring minor surgery following a dislocated finger.

Berry's Hamstring Tightness a Concern for Brisbane

Brisbane midfielder Jarrod Berry (hamstring tightness) will push to play against Essendon after he was substituted out of Saturday's costly loss to Collingwood.