Three key experienced players will need only to get through main training on Thursday to get the nod to resume for the West Coast Eagles at the weekend.
Versatile forward Jake Waterman, the club’s leading goalkicker with 41 majors from 15 games, midfield powerhouse Elliot Yeo and ruckman Matt Flynn are all poised to resume.
Waterman and Yeo both missed last week’s game against St Kilda while Flynn has missed the last two games with an ankle injury.
High performance manager Mat Inness is confident all three will clear the last hurdle to resume on Saturday.
“So good news with Flynn, Yeo and Waterman,” he said. “Assuming they all get through training they will all play in some respect this weekend.
“Gov (key defender Jeremy McGovern) is still a chance, he will be a test later in the week. He trained fully today so we will test him on Thursday and see how he goes.”
Co-captain Liam Duggan is making strong progress from a concussion against Brisbane, but the club will take a cautious approach given it was his second such injury in a little more than a month.
Unfortunately, it appears forward-midfielder Tyler Brockman has played his last game for the year.
“Liam’s recovering from his concussion a fortnight ago but unfortunately because he had two in a short period of time we are just going to take a bit more time with him,” Inness said. “So he won’t play this week.
“Tyler hurt his ankle a week and a half ago. Unfortunately, it is a syndesmosis and because of the time of the year he won’t make it back to play again this year.
“Jamo (ruckman Callum Jamieson) still has a bit of a knee issue and an ankle issue he has been dealing with for a while. We are still doing an investigation to see what the outcome will be there, but because he hasn’t run for a while he is still a few weeks away.
“And Coby Burgiel hurt his hamstring last week so he will be three or four weeks from playing.”