Midfield bull Elliot Yeo is showing positive signs in the early stages of his recovery from groin soreness, while in-form defender Liam Duggan is set to return against Greater Western Sydney on Sunday.
Meanwhile, onballer Jack Redden should only miss one match after being put on ice during the final term of West Coast’s comfortable win over Hawthorn last round.
Yeo was a late withdrawal from the Hawks clash and is facing several weeks on the sidelines, General Manager – Football Craig Vozzo told westcoasteagles.com.au.
“We missed Elliot on the weekend obviously, great player for us. He’s got an OP-type (osteitis pubis) issue in the groin area, so it’s one of those ones that is hard to predict, but it can turn really quickly from a positive point-of-view,” Vozzo said.
“He has shown some really good signs of improvement, which is great early in this process, but we’ve got some time to assess it and it’s probably two-to-three weeks at this stage but very hopeful as we progress.”
Redden was held out of the dying stages against Hawthorn following a slight strain, while Duggan wasn’t risked after experiencing hamstring tightness.
The Eagles expect Duggan to return when they aim for eight-straight wins against the Giants, while diligent midfielder Mark Hutchings (toe) should also be available for his first senior appearance of 2020.
“Liam almost got up to play versus the Hawks but we took a conservative approach with all the games we’ve got in this compressed fixture ahead,” Vozzo said.
“We expect him to get through main training. That being the case he should be available.
“Jack had abductor strain which progressively got worse through the course of the game.
“The suggestion from our doctor on the bench was to rest him in the last quarter, which we were able to do there in the end.
“He’s probably only going to miss a week and he’s actually progressing quite well already.”
Several other Eagles have been struck down by injury recently, with Jake Waterman (hand) and Will Schofield (elbow) undergoing surgery that will keep them out of action for two-to-three weeks.
Big man Nathan Vardy suffered a serious issue in Sunday’s scrimmage against the Hawks’ reserves after a corked thigh bled badly and developed into compartment syndrome.
“Nathan unfortunately suffered a really significant cork injury, we thought originally, to the thigh in our scrimmage which ended up being a compartment syndrome-type problem where the blood accumulates,” Vozzo said.
“It’s a very painful injury which has required surgery to release the problem and that’s gone well by all reports. He will have his wound closed shortly.
“It’s a bit of messy type operation but that’s probably going to mean he’s out of action for a period of time – around five weeks is our past experience.”
West Coast injury list
Liam Duggan Hamstring Test
Mark Hutchings Toe Test
Jamaine Jones Hamstring Season
Mitch O'Neill Back 6 weeks
Jack Petruccelle Hamstring 3-4 weeks
Jack Redden Abductor 1 week
Will Schofield Elbow 2-3 weeks
Nathan Vardy Thigh 5 weeks
Daniel Venables Head Season
Jake Waterman Hand 2-3 weeks
Francis Watson Knee Season
Elliot Yeo Groin 2-3 weeks
