West Coast AFL coach Adam Simpson is adamant Josh Kennedy hasn't suffered a fresh setback in his comeback bid from a calf injury.
Kennedy hasn't played since tearing his right calf and damaging his achilles tendon in the round-10 loss to Greater Western Sydney.
The two-time Coleman medallist will miss Saturday night's clash with Melbourne at Domain Stadium, and is no certainty to return next week.
Kennedy initially hoped to be back for last week's win over Geelong.
Simpson said Kennedy trained well on Friday, but the Eagles wouldn't take any risks with the 29-year-old.
"There's been no setbacks," Simpson said.
"He had a previous achilles injury that he has been managing all year that prevents him from training as much as he'd like.
"So I think that's probably got a little bit to do with it. He's normally really good on his recovery, so maybe he's just getting a bit old.
"Hopefully, (he's back) next week, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was longer than that just to get that right. We'll let it take its course."
Fellow forward Mark LeCras (hip) is also expected to miss several weeks.
LeCras has gone four-straight games without kicking a goal - the longest drought of his AFL career.
Simpson said LeCras had been carrying the niggling hip injury for some time, and wasn't playing well enough to keep his spot.
"He can't get to his best. So we need to shut him down for a week or two and build him back up," Simpson said.
"People play injured all the time, so it's not an excuse.
"It's just he probably can't reach the same levels physically with that injury. So we'll give him a few weeks off."
LeCras' return of 17.17 from 11 games this season has prompted heavy criticism.
But Simpson said it was too simplistic to merely look at how many goals LeCras had kicked.
"You can't rate players just on goals. I mean, c'mon," an agitated Simpson said.
"In the Essendon game, he had 18 touches and kicked three points.
"So are we saying if he kicked two of those we would be happy?"
Melbourne (7-5) have jumped to fifth spot with a three-match winning run.
But the Demons will need to break their long-standing Perth hoodoo to edge closer towards the top four.
Melbourne have lost their past 17 matches at Domain Stadium going back to 2004.
And they haven't beaten the Eagles at any venue since 2009 - a losing streak that has stretched to nine matches.
The Demons were dealt a huge blow this week when co-captain Nathan Jones (quad) and Jack Watts (hamstring) were ruled out.
But the return of ruckman Max Gawn will give the Demons much-needed firepower in the stoppage battle.
Former Cat Nathan Vardy will again be called on to lead West Coast's ruck.
But Scott Lycett could be back next week against the Western Bulldogs if he can get through his third straight WAFL hitout.
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