Co-captain Oscar Allen will miss some football after experiencing soreness in his right knee.
Allen did not report any soreness before, during or immediately after Sunday’s match against Port Adelaide, but underwent scans on Tuesday after experiencing swelling which revealed some bone stress.
The club will continue to assess Allen’s knee and provide an update in coming days when a return-to-play timeframe becomes clearer.
Meanwhile, experienced duo Liam Ryan and Dom Sheed are closing in on returning to play, while emerging midfielder Jai Culley’s long road back from a knee reconstruction is nearly complete.
Ryan (hamstring) and Sheed (foot) are ramping up their training loads following off-season setbacks and returning to action is within sight.
Key defender Harry Edwards is also on the verge of a comeback from a broken finger suffered in the intraclub last month.
“Liam and Dom are both progressing well. We expect to see them in pretty much full training this week,” High Performance Manager Mat Inness told westcoasteagles.com.au.
“Now it’s just a matter of building up their loads so hopefully we’ll see them return to play in the next three-to-four weeks.
“Harry is starting ball work this week, so everything going to plan he’ll probably miss this week but be back to play next week.”
Culley has been out of action since round eight last year when he ruptured his ACL but is tracking positively towards resuming competitive play.
“Jai is going really well. He has been in full training the last couple of weeks, so he’s probably another two weeks away from hopefully returning to play,” Inness said.
The club is still working through timelines for Rhett Bazzo (groin) and Elijah Hewett (foot), while big men Matt Flynn and Archer Reid are progressing with their knee issues.
“Elijah, we’re still working through a process. It’s been a bit slower than we’d hoped, so we’ll give you some more updates and a bit more info over the next couple of weeks,” Inness said.
“Flynny and Rhett, they’re both starting to move through their rehab and we’re hoping to see them out running again in the next five to seven days and from there we’ll be able to reload them for a return to play.
“Archer Reid will be back in match sim hopefully this week and from there this is part of his pre-season really. He’s still about five to six weeks away from playing but he’s starting to progress really well.”
Injury list
Oscar Allen Knee TBC
Rhett Bazzo Groin TBC
Jai Culley Knee 2-3 weeks
Harry Edwards Finger 1 week
Matt Flynn Knee 7-9 weeks
Elijah Hewett Foot TBC
Archer Reid Knee 5-7 weeks
Liam Ryan Hamstring 2-4 weeks
Dom Sheed Foot 3-4 weeks
