St Kilda are looking forward to a win on their AFL bye weekend, with ruckman Michael Gardiner set to make his long-awaited comeback.

Gardiner will play for VFL affiliates Sandringham, his first match at any level since last year's drawn grand final.

He hurt his hamstring in that match, but it is a persistent knee injury that has mainly kept him out of the game in 2011.

Gardiner eventually went to Sweden earlier this year for surgery to fix the knee problem.

Another hamstring injury in April further delayed his comeback.

"I'm really looking forward to getting back out there and seeing how successful the operation has been under match conditions," Gardiner told the club website.

"So far it has been holding up really well and I'm feeling confident.

"It will be great to get amongst the young players on the list and play some football with them.

"My fitness is okay - I obviously need some match fitness and I'm just looking forward to getting out there and having a real crack."

Gardiner is unsure how far he is away from returning to the AFL.

Team-mate Jarryn Geary could also return through Sandringham after recovering from the broken leg he suffered in round one.

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