Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli is expected to carry on through two injury concerns to face Port Adelaide this week.
Bontempelli has been hindered by a knee injury he sustained in the loss to Geelong in Round 6, but coach Luke Beveridge revealed another issue the star has been dealing with.
"He's had a bruised heel that he's been dealing with, that's the main thing I've been worried about," Beveridge said.
"It's the main reason he was limping a bit in the game just gone.
"But he's been able to deal with that and manage it with our medicos, and he's pretty confident he should be available.
"You don't run on your hands, so if you've got a bruised heel, it can cause some issues, but we think that's improving."
Bontempelli nearly missed last week's clash against Fremantle, but against all odds, dominated despite carrying multiple injuries.
He recorded 33 disposals and kicked two goals in the narrow loss to the Dockers, but spent a large chunk of the final quarter on the bench.
"It's a pretty high bar, as far as the pain threshold for him with discomfort," Beveridge said.
"He wants to play, and we're not going to talk him out of doing that.
"He's missed a game here and there, and he missed the start of last year because he had to."
Veteran Adam Treloar won't return to the senior side this week, with Beveridge saying his strength is "compromised".
Treloar will also be sidelined due to the VFL side having a bye.
"His high-intensity running side of his game, which has always been a great strength of his, is just compromised at the moment," Beveridge said.
"So he's working out whether he can get to that point where it's really going to challenge opposition midfields at AFL level."
Beveridge will be forced into at least one change, with Laitham Vandermeer downed by a hamstring injury for at least six weeks.
Connor Budarick (hamstring) is likely to return, straight into AFL action.
