West Coast star Jeremy McGovern will have his troublesome thumb scanned after the injury flared up during the shattering loss to the Western Bulldogs on Sunday.

McGovern was in visible pain after a marking contest but the stand-in captain in Luke Shuey's (hamstrings) absence bravely fought on in the two-point defeat at Metricon Stadium.

Speaking post-match, coach Adam Simpson conceded Mark Hutchings (hamstring) was set for a stint on the sidelines but hoped gun defender McGovern wouldn’t join him after missing three games already nursing the issue.

“We’ll have to get a scan and see how it is. I think it’s the same thumb. There was decisions to make seven or eight weeks ago when he did it what we should do,” Simpson said post-match.

“Hopefully it’s not too bad, but it’s just a really awkward position underneath the fingernail. You’ve just got to get it flicked to hurt it. It’s his ball drop hand, his spoiling and his handling.

“It’s hard to play without a thumb. I don’t think you can numb it.

“He’s played with so much pain and resilience over the years, if anyone can he can.”

The Eagles are counting the cost of the rough defeat, which has them in fifth spot – two points behind Richmond and four above upcoming opponent St Kilda in what Simpson dubbed an “eight-point game”.

West Coast led by 22 points at quarter-time before being reeled in by the Dogs, who dominated inside 50s (45-27).

“I thought the Bulldogs outplayed us for almost all night, so we were lucky to be in it. The numbers don’t look great,” Simpson said.

“We were pretty brave. But we didn’t get it done. We had opportunities and we missed them.

“I don’t know how much we’ll review but we probably need to look at our supply.”

With Shuey, Elliot Yeo and Nic Naitanui (back) out of action, the Eagles were missing some big guns in midfield but expect to regain their star ruckman against the Saints.

“It was touch and go (whether he played the Dogs). He’s just a bit sorer than what he’s been the last few weeks, and we’ve got five games in 19 days so it would have been reckless to play him in every game,” Simpson said.

“The moment we thought he was a bit tight we thought that was a cue to give him a spell. I think he’s feeling pretty good – good enough to play next week that’s for sure.”