St Kilda players warned off Melbourne beach after sea lice attack on teenager

THIS STORY CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES BELOW

For professional footballers, having a dip in Brighton Beach is nothing out of the ordinary, whether it's before or after training or on their day off.

But when midfielder Koby Stevens and fellow St Kilda player Sam Gilbert were on their way for a swim today, they got orders from the club that they would have never expected to receive.

Stevens has told of the club-imposed ban on swimming in the Melbourne beach after the horrific and graphic attack on teenager Sam Kezinay that left the boy bloodied and hospitalised. 

"Me and Sammy Gilbert were actually on our way down to the beach. We got the email from Matt Hornsby, our fitness guy, telling us not to go in.

"The whole group got the message of the young bloke who had his feet eaten at the beach."

Stevens said he had heard of a similar incident involving his friend weeks prior, and that it was a big issue for the players.

"I had actually heard of it happening a few weeks back.

"One of my mates was down in the water and he came out with blood on his feet as well.

"You really need your feet for this game, so we were advised not to go down there."

The warning from the club wasn't without good reason, with Kezinay's father Jarrod speaking of the incident with reporters. 

"When he got out, he described having sand on his legs, so he went back in the water," Kanizay told AAP.

"He went back to his shoes and what he found was blood on his legs.

"They ate through Sam's skin and made it bleed profusely."