High Performance Manager Mat Inness provides an update on West Coast’s injured players ahead of round 15 against Essendon
Co-captains Oscar Allen and Liam Duggan only need to get through training on Thursday to prove their fitness ahead of Sunday’s road clash with Essendon.
Allen’s comeback from a long-term knee injury is a major boost for the Eagles, with last year’s leading goalkicker absent since round one.
“Good news for Oscar. He’s had probably two weeks of full training so we expect him to play this weekend if he gets through training Thursday,” High Performance Manager Mat Inness told westcoasteagles.com.au.
Duggan will need to tick the final box to clear the concussion protocols this week before taking his place at Marvel Stadium.
“Liam is going really well. The bye actually came at a good time for him with his head knock,” Inness said.
“He’s been in concussion protocols but he’s been progressing through those really well, so if he gets through training Thursday he’ll also play this weekend.”
Meanwhile, speedy wingman Jayden Hunt is also set to return from a toe injury after missing West Coast’s last two matches before the bye, and Luke Edwards is available after exiting concussion protocols.
“Jayden has had a couple of weeks off with his toe – we used the bye as a chance to get him right,” Inness said.
“He’s been in full training for the last week so again if he gets through training Thursday he’ll play this weekend.
“Luke Edwards would have played last week if there was a game, so he’ll be right to play this weekend.”
Midfield duo Tim Kelly (hip) and Dom Sheed (hamstring) will miss the trip to face the Bombers, but are aiming to be available against Hawthorn in round 16.
Sheed suffered a minor hamstring complaint late in the loss to North Melbourne before the bye.
“Right at the end of the game Dom was sliding for a mark on the boundary line. He pulled up with a tight hamstring off the back of that,” Inness said.
“We scanned him and he’s got a low-grade strain. He did train fully today but we’re not taking any risks with him so he won’t play this week.
“Tim Kelly with his hip and a little bit of a grumbly knee, taking a little bit longer than we were expecting, but he’s back training.
“He trained today and he’ll have a good session Saturday, so he won’t play this week but we’ll hopefully see him the week after.”
Emerging pair Elijah Hewett (foot) and Rhett Bazzo (groin) are on a similar timeline and hoping to play some football in about three-to-four weeks.
“Elijah is back training. He’s back running around with the group, which is great. He’s probably around three-to-four weeks away from playing but he’s back into a fair bit of training, which is really good for him,” Inness said.
“Rhett is on a similar timeframe to Elijah. He’s back running around with the group joining in with training, so again he’ll be about three-to-four weeks away from playing.”
Injury list:
Oscar Allen Knee Test
Rhett Bazzo Groin 3-4 weeks
Liam Duggan Concussion Protocols Test
Elijah Hewett Foot 3-4 weeks
Tim Kelly Hip 1 week
Noah Long Knee Season
Dom Sheed Hamstring 1 week