MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 27: (L-R) Xavier O'Neill, Liam Duggan and Luke Shuey of the Eagles celebrate during the 2022 AFL Round 02 match between the North Melbourne Kangaroos and the West Coast Eagles at Marvel Stadium on March 27, 2022 In Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Michael WillsonAFL Photos)
Return of experienced troops on the horizon for West Coast Eagles.
West Coast has confirmed that co-captain and star forward Oscar Allen will be out for the next eight to ten weeks following a minor arthroscopic surgery, but there is good news on the horizon.
Despite Allen’s knee cartilage being trimmed this week to relieve bone stress and pain, the Eagles are on track to have their healthiest roster in two years.
West Coast named 12 AFL-listed players in a practice match against Subiaco last week and is expected to name more when big defender Harry Edwards returns from a broken finger.
Dom Sheed, a veteran and 2018 premiership hero, is expected to return within the next two weeks after strong training, while youngster Jai Culley has recovered faster than expected from an ACL rupture.
Culley could return as early as round four, despite blowing out his knee in round eight last season.
“Dom is doing well. He has been in full training for the last two weeks, just building up his load, but we expect to see him again in the next week or two,” said High Performance Manager Mat Inness on the club’s website.
“Jai, who had his ACL surgery last year, has been in full training for the past five or six weeks. He’ll be back in action in a week or two, hopefully.”
Inness also stated that the club hoped electrifying high-flyer Liam Ryan would return in a little more than three weeks.
“Liam is doing really well. He’s obviously missed a lot of football as well, so now it’s about increasing his durability so he can have a good shot at it, hopefully,” he said.
“He is probably two to three weeks away from playing.”
Elijah Hewett appeared upbeat in the locker room following the loss to GWS, despite being sidelined with a foot complaint that will require surgery next week, leaving him unavailable until at least after the mid-season bye.
“Oscar’s surgery went well.” “We’ll have it rescanned in about two to three weeks, and we’ll go from there,” Inness said.
“Elijah is going to Melbourne with us. He will have surgery later this week, and we will provide a timeframe based on that.
