Nic Naitanui is set to face the Swans on Sunday, with skipper Shannon Hurn confident that he has done enough to be cleared to play.
Naitanui had a strong hit out on Friday, after making his comeback for East Perth the weekend before.
"I'd assume he'd be definitely in the mix and provided he pulls up fine โ without giving a headline โ I'd say he'd be playing," Hurn told the media on Monday.
"It just depends on how he goes through this week."'
If Naitanui returns on Sunday, it'll be his first AFL match in 584 days, after he ruptured his ACL against Hawthorn in round 22, 2016.
The 201cm ruckman, is key to the Eagles' midfield setup, with Hurn labelling his ability to leap as good as it was two years ago. However, Hurn has declared that the expectations surrounding Naitanui should still be kept realistic.
"We'll be happy when he plays but we'll also try to put the message across that just because he's playing it doesn't mean we're going to win by 10 goals every game, it's still a team performance," Hurn said.
"We want Nic to be able to still find his feet. That will be the balancing act is everyone will be expecting him to be a superstar in his first week back, but it will take a little bit of time."
With other news on the selection front, the Eagles are expected to name at least three debutants to face the Swans with Liam Ryan, Jake Waterman and Daniel Venables likely to form a new look forward line.
Willie Rioli does appear to be over his ankle injury but looks the least likely of the four to make his debut on Sunday.
"Willie's just coming along. He's had a couple of interrupted things which is disappointing for him because he's starting to hit his straps really well," Hurn added.
"It's (the forward line) going to be a bit young but with that comes some pretty good excitement and blokes just playing football with a bit more excitement."
With the Eagles set to play in front of a packed-out Optus Stadium, coach Adam Simpson is wary of the risk involved in unleashing a young group of players in front of a near capacity crowd.
Hurn believes the cauldron like atmosphere, is an atmosphere that the Eagles are looking to turn into a fortress, one like Subiaco and similar to what both South Australian teams have developed at Adelaide Oval.
"It is important. You always want to do well and play well, that helps yourselves with confidence and keeps that perception out there that travelling to Perth is going to be tough," Hurn said.
Tom Cole is likely to be unavailable, after his father passed away on Sunday, with Will Schofield the likely inclusion from the JLT side that faced Fremantle, to help Jeremy McGovern and Tom Barrass deal with superstar forward Lance Franklin.
