West Coast have been handed more bad news as their luckless pre-season continues, with two Eagles expected to be stuck on the sidelines as the season gets underway in just over two weeks.
The Eagles have confirmed that Dom Sheed and Campbell Chesser will face an extended stint on the sidelines after suffering respective syndesmosis and ankle injuries in last week's pre-season hitout against Fremantle.
Chesser, the Eagles' no. 14 draft pick, came from the ground early in the scratch match with a left ankle complaint after a marking contest gone wrong, while Sheed left the ground soon after his leg was twisted in a tackle.
West Coast confirmed on Monday that Sheed is set to undergo surgery on his syndesmosis injury, ruling him out for the first half of the season. While recent draftee Chesser is facing a similar amount of time on the sidelines, with surgery still an option for the 18-year-old.
Elliot Yeo also limped from the ground with a lower leg complaint and will miss the opening rounds of the season with a calf strain.
The practice match against cross-town rivals Fremantle, a loss to the tune of 97 points, was costly for the club already dealing with a mounting injury list.
Luke Shuey (hamstring), Jamie Cripps (pectoral), Liam Duggan (knee) and Tom Cole (ankle) all feature on the list, while young star Oscar Allen remains in doubt to feature in the opening month of the season due to an ongoing foot injury.
They are joined on the sidelines by Jack Darling (unvaccinated), who remains on indefinite leave from the club.
Dom Sheed facing 15 weeks out - syndesmosis injury and will have surgery this week.
Campbell Chesser’s bone and ligament damage likely to be a 3 month setback for the highly touted @WestCoastEagles recruit.@9NewsPerth
— Paddy Sweeney (@SweeneyPaddy9) February 27, 2022
Eagles Football Manager Gavin Bell provided an update on the duo to Eagles Media.
"There’s nobody to blame but we’ve had a bad run of luck on the injury front and unfortunately Elliot, Dom and Campbell all sustained injuries early in the practice game,” Bell said.
“Elliot strained his calf and we expect him to progress back from that to return to play in about a month.
“Unfortunately for Dom his left leg was twisted underneath him in a tackle in the first five minutes of the game on Friday and he will need surgery on his syndesmosis.
“Really disappointing as well for Campbell to suffer a long-term injury in his first game for the club after a promising few months since he joined training.
“He has some ligament and cartilage damage to his ankle that we are continuing to assess but he is likely to miss at least the first half of the season.”
