West Coast forward Mark LeCras has avoided a serious wrist injury but the Eagles will again be without Tom Barrass for a crunch clash with Adelaide.
LeCras injured his right wrist during last week's 28-point AFL loss to Essendon, and there were reports he may have suffered a dislocation which would require surgery.
But scans have returned positive news with the 31-year-old in line to face the Crows at Adelaide Oval on Saturday.
LeCras' availability is a major boost for the Eagles who remain without injured spearheads Josh Kennedy (hairline leg fracture) and Jack Darling (fractured ankle).
Kennedy is at least two weeks away from returning while Darling is set for another three-to-four weeks on the sidelines.
"Mark's had some troubles over the years with his wrist," Eagles football boss Craig Vozzo said on Tuesday.
"Because we've had previous problems with that wrist we had it looked at by the previous surgeon. The early signs on scan are good and he trained really well - there were some good signs yesterday with his movement and he seemed fairly uninhibited.
"We are just going through a check-up phase with it all to make sure we get everything right. He'll be a test later in the week."
The news wasn't as good for key defender Barrass, who is set to miss another week with a back injury.
His absence is likely to rule out any hope of Jeremy McGovern playing in the forward line.
Last week, West Coast won the inside-50m count 59-45 against Essendon, but managed just six goals for the match.
It was a similar case the previous week against Sydney, when West Coast won the inside-50m count 63-52, but only managed seven goals.
Forwards Jake Waterman, Liam Ryan, and Willie Rioli have combined for just three goals over the past two weeks.
West Coast have slipped to third spot following two straight losses.
A defeat to the Crows would put a major dent in the Eagles' top-four hopes.
Adelaide (6-7) could be bolstered by the return of Tom Lynch (side strain), midfielder Rory Sloane (foot), All-Australian defender Rory Laird (hand), and Luke Brown (ankle).
Share
