St Kilda will be without key duo Max King and Liam Henry for this week's clash with Essendon, with their replacements likely to come in the form of Anthony Caminiti and Dan Butler.

Caminiti and Butler featured in the VFL last weekend and are now the first in line to come in to play a role, according to AFL Media's Josh Gabelich.

King is serving a one-match suspension for his head-high bump on Collingwood's Finlay Macrae despite challenging the ban at the tribunal.

The gun forward was pushing for 'low' impact instead of 'medium' but was unable to overturn the decision.

During the same game, Henry was seen limping from the ground in the last quarter, clutching at his hamstring.

Sent for scans, the ex-Docker has been ruled out for a lengthy period, with EGM of Football David Mission providing a timeline.

โ€œWe took Liam out of the game towards the end as a precaution,โ€ Misson said.

โ€œThis is obviously a terrible blow for Liam, who has impressed in his first two games at the club.

โ€œLiam's setback is far greater than we initially thought, especially given he has never had an injury of this type before.

โ€œAt this stage, Liam's return-to-play timeline sits at approximately six to eight weeks."

Caminiti led the goal-kicking in Friday's reserves game with two while Butler slotted one.

The pair didn't perform to their usual standards but will play a key role in the front half against the Bombers.

New draftee Arie Schoenmakers also put his hand up for senior selection, doing himself no harm.

Schoenmakers featured across the halfback and gathered a game-high 33 possessions and 13 marks in an impressive effort from the youngster.

St Kilda's full line-up will be revealed at 6:20pm on Thursday.