The slow nature of Oscar Allen and Luke Edwards’ recovery from injuries meant shutting them down for the remainder of 2022 became a “calculated decision”, coach Adam Simpson says.

Tall forward Allen has not played this season after suffering a stress-related foot injury in February, while promising midfielder Edwards managed just three games after coming in from an off-season restricted by groin trouble.

As two of the emerging Eagles with bright futures who are set to take the club forward, their absences – alongside the season-long injury for top draft pick Campbell Chesser – have compounded a tough year to date.

“We were holding out a bit of hope for both of them but it was just a slow process with their injuries,” Simpson said.

“It’s got to the point now where their recovery marries up towards the end of the season, so it probably makes sense to shut them down and get them right with no guarantees they were going to get back anyway.

“We made a calculated decision to do that now.”

Simpson was confident Allen would not suffer any long-term effects from his foot problem, with plenty resting on the 23-year-old leader’s shoulders in coming years after veteran Josh Kennedy calls time.

“I don’t think long-term we’re in any dangerous territory but bone stress in your foot is always unforgiving if you don’t get it right,” Simpson said.

“I think we had a minor setback at some stage, but it’s all progressing well the latest scan we got, it’s just slow and he’s just got out of the boot.

“He probably needs another three-or-four weeks non-running, and then all of a sudden it’s round 13 or 14 before we start the pre-season for him.

“There’s no real timeframe when you get those type of injuries, you’ve just got to let the body take care of it and it’s just been slow.”

The Eagles head to Giants Stadium to face Greater Western Sydney hoping to claim their second victory for the season against a side which will be helmed by caretaker coach Mark McVeigh for the first time after Leon Cameron’s departure.

“We’re really concentrating on us. We’re just trying to get ourselves settled, competitive. Trying to get some identity with how we go about things,” Simpson said.

“Our backs are against the wall a little bit with what we’ve got. We’re just trying to be consistent with our approach to training, our method and the way we go about it.

“We’re obviously looking at the Giants and there’s several changes, but it’s probably more about us at the moment.”