Midfield star Elliot Yeo pulled up well from his WAFL comeback and will be a match committee decision later this week ahead of Saturday night’s clash with Essendon, along with important backman Brad Sheppard following a rolled ankle.
However, the news is not as promising for gun defender Jeremy McGovern, who is facing a month on the sidelines following a knee problem, while Alex Witherden will miss at least this round’s clash after he was withdrawn before the Eagles’ loss to Greater Western Sydney.
“Jeremy, he’s going to be out with that knee for probably a four-week period is what the doctors are anticipating at this stage,” General Manager – Football Craig Vozzo told westcoasteagles.com.au.
“So unfortunately it will be a post-bye thing, which is disappointing for the club and for Jeremy.
“But at least it’s not a long-term thing and we look forward to welcoming him back hopefully close to after the bye.
“Alex pulled up really sore after our Captain’s Run so it was quite a surprise. He’s had a little bit of symptom beforehand in the area.
“They’ve done some scans and are working out exactly what it is at the moment – hopefully it’s not the dreaded ‘OP’ phrase.
“He won’t be available this week. We’re going to take a conservative approach over the next week or so and then finalise where we get to after that.”
Yeo showed plenty of signs off his strength and power in his first game for more than nine months for the WAFL Eagles and is a chance to face the Bombers in round 11 after his long-term battle with osteitis pubis kept him sidelined since the corresponding round last year.
Mark Hutchings also performed well following a string of knee and hamstring issues and will be aiming to keep building in the WAFL before pushing for a senior return.
“Elliot and Hutch pulled up well. They both did a good job,” Vozzo said.
“Elliot was on limited minutes, I think he played just over 70 minutes in the end, got up the volumes our guys were wanting.
“The reports were he came up well from the game. We’ll see how he progresses through the week, I don’t want to get too excited.
“See how he main trains and then we’ll make that decision later in the week.”
Sheppard hurt his ankle in the Giants clash and will have a slow start to the week before pushing to play.
“He’s pulled up OK. The reports from the doctors were positive. It’s just a plain vanilla-type sprain,” Vozzo said.
“He’ll have a slow start to the week and he’ll be a decision pending how he performs during the week and at main training.”
Meanwhile, small forward Jarrod Cameron will be out of action for an extensive period after the luckless Eagles youngster suffered a serious ankle injury from a marking contest in the WAFL.
“It looked like a nasty injury with that ankle, we were really worried,” Vozzo said.
“Fortunately, there’s no fracture or bone damage, but that dreaded word syndesmosis is what it is.
“He’ll have a very light four-to-six weeks to start off legs and then we’ll be rebuilding.
“It’s going to be an extensive period out for Jarrod unfortunately.”
Injury list:
Jarrod Cameron Ankle TBC
Liam Duggan Knee 3 weeks
Jeremy McGovern Knee 4 weeks
Brad Sheppard Ankle Test
Luke Shuey Hamstring TBC
Daniel Venables Concussion TBC
Isiah Winder Knee 5 weeks
Alex Witherden Groin 1-2 weeks
