Richmond have decided against recalling Noah Balta for AFL action in Round 5 as the premiership defender awaits sentencing for assault.
Balta's club-imposed suspension is over and he was eligible to return in Sunday's clash with Fremantle at Barossa Park.
But he was left out of the Tigers' extended 26-player squad named on Thursday night.
Balta will instead play for Richmond's reserves team against the Australia Under-18s on Sunday.
"Noah will return through our VFL team this weekend given the time he has spent out of the game," Richmond football manager Tim Livingstone said.
"This is purely a football decision that we have made to ensure Noah builds important match conditioning before returning to AFL level."
It remains to be seen whether Balta will return at the top level in round six, when Richmond host Gold Coast at Marvel Stadium.
Balta has pleaded guilty to assault and will be sentenced on April 22 for his attack on a 27-year-old man outside the Mulwala Water Ski Club.
The Tigers backman was suspended for four premiership season matches, after also sitting out two practice games, by his club in a sanction ratified by the AFL after the incident on December 30 last year.
Speaking at the Gather Round launch in Adelaide on Wednesday, AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon said the league wouldn't step in to prevent Balta from playing after serving his ban.
But the league and Richmond have faced community backlash over the decision to make Balta eligible to play before his sentencing.
On Thursday, Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan demanded answers from both parties, describing Balta's actions as a "sickening attack".
"What sort of message does this send to kids about what's right and what's wrong?" Allan said.
"I think that's really a question the AFL and Richmond need to answer."
Balta's former premiership teammate Jack Riewoldt said there was nothing to be gained by him playing in the next two weeks.
"I don't think they should play him - I don't think it is smart," Riewoldt said on Fox Footy last Saturday night.
On Tuesday, outgoing AFL Players Association chief executive Paul Marsh said Balta "has a right to play" while he awaits his assault sentencing.
Richmond coach Adem Yze had previously indicated Balta would return in round five if he was declared fit, before the club ultimately opted against picking him.
Balta pleaded guilty in the Corowa Local Court to assault occasioning actual bodily harm, which in NSW carries a maximum penalty of five years in jail.
Prosecutors said Balta's actions, which hospitalised the victim Thomas Washbrook with head injuries, met the threshold of a high-level offence.
The court was shown CCTV footage of Balta running out of the club and shoulder-charging Washbrook, knocking him to the ground.
Court documents state Balta punched Washbrook's head two to three times and assisted his brother by holding the man down.
Balta punched Washbrook twice more in the head before he was pulled away from the victim, who was bleeding from a three-centimetre head wound.
Balta's defence team admitted to the court the incident was serious, but argued the assault was at the higher end of a mid-level offence.
His lawyer Belinda Franjic told the court the offence was "completely and utterly out of character" for the AFL star.