WEST Coast will decide this week if premiership defender Beau Waters needs more surgery on his troublesome shoulder.
 
The 27-year-old premiership player could face a stint out of the game after developing an infection in his reconstructed shoulder before Christmas.
 
The shoulder was operated on in August last year before it became infected in December, which prompted the early removal of the pins that had been inserted.

It wasn't clear if the pins had been in long enough for the joint to heal sufficiently. 

Contrary to a News Limited report, Waters has not suffered another dislocation, a West Coast spokesperson told AFL.com.au on Sunday.

The spokesperson said a decision was expected to be made mid-week over the next course of action regarding the problematic joint. 

On January 6, coach Adam Simpson said the weeks following would be telling as to whether Waters would need more surgery.

"The procedure he had was successful but there was a little bit of an infection in the shoulder," Simpson said then. 

"They had to take the screws out. Hopefully it's been in long enough.

"He's a 50-50 chance for whether he needs another bout of surgery or not. It could be a lengthy one if he needs it."

Waters has played just 120 games since his 2004 AFL debut, with problems with his groin, hamstring, elbow and shoulder disrupting his career.