{"id":531930,"date":"2026-03-10T22:15:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T22:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/531930\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T22:15:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T22:15:12","slug":"west-coast-eagles-injury-update-round-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/531930\/","title":{"rendered":"West Coast Eagles injury update: Round One"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"article__summary\">\n                High Performance Manager Phil Merriman has provided an update on West Coast\u2019s returning players\n            <\/p>\n<p>\n                            By westcoasteagles.com.au\n                            <\/p>\n<p>Co-captain Liam Duggan, midfielder Tim Kelly and defender Reuben Ginbey will be available to take on Gold Coast in round one, with Jack Graham listed as a test for the trip to Queensland.<\/p>\n<p>Duggan has progressed through concussion protocols and has been cleared to play, while Kelly has overcome a hamstring niggle and Ginbey is available after toe soreness. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Hard-running midfielder Graham (hamstring) is listed as a test as he edges toward putting his hand up to play at People First Stadium.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJack needs to finish off his rehab this week. There are one or two more hurdles to clear before he\u2019s available to play,\u201d High Performance Manager Phil Merriman said.<\/p>\n<p>Key defender Harry Edwards will miss this week as he continues to work through concussion protocols.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHarry has been a little slower progressing, and he won\u2019t be available this week. The expectation is that he\u2019ll be available for round two,\u201d Merriman said.<\/p>\n<p>Recruit Brandon Starcevich will be sidelined for three-to-four weeks after a minor setback to the same calf he recently recovered from.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnfortunately, Brandon had a very minor separate issue to the same calf last week, which will hold him back another week or two,\u201d Merriman said.<\/p>\n<p>Ruckman Bailey Williams (groin) is tracking well as he builds toward his return.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBailey has really lifted his intensity and output at training. We\u2019ll use the WAFL practice match this week as part of his build back toward full match minutes,\u201d Merriman said.<\/p>\n<p>Second-year midfielder Tom Gross (hamstring) is progressing strongly through his reconditioning program.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTom has been really professional in his rehab, and we\u2019ll see him taking part in some football drills this week,\u201d Merriman said.<\/p>\n<p>Draftee Fred Rodriguez (foot) is expected to return in six-to-eight weeks, while Sam Allen continues to progress from his knee reconstruction.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFred will be running on field for the first time this week, which is exciting for both him and the team,\u201d Merriman said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSam is continuing his football build. We are seeing him in more and more football activities, whilst also focusing heavily on his change of direction.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mid-season recruit Jack Hutchinson (ankle) remains six-to-eight weeks away as he continues to build his running volumes and intensities, while tall forward Jack Williams is a test due to a calf injury.<\/p>\n<p>                                Hamstring<\/p>\n<p>                                Test<\/p>\n<p>                                Calf<\/p>\n<p>                                Test<\/p>\n<p>                                Concussion<\/p>\n<p>                                1 week<\/p>\n<p>                                Groin<\/p>\n<p>                                1-2 weeks<\/p>\n<p>                                Calf<\/p>\n<p>                                3-4 weeks<\/p>\n<p>                                Hamstring<\/p>\n<p>                                3-4 weeks<\/p>\n<p>                                Knee<\/p>\n<p>                                5 weeks<\/p>\n<p>                                Foot<\/p>\n<p>                                6-8 weeks<\/p>\n<p>                                Ankle<\/p>\n<p>                                6-8 weeks<\/p>\n<p>                                Knee<\/p>\n<p>                                TBC<\/p>\n<p class=\"injury-list__info-content\">\n                                                Sam is continuing his football build. We are seeing him in more and more football activities, whilst also focusing heavily on his change of direction.\n                                            <\/p>\n<p>                                Knee<\/p>\n<p>                                Season<\/p>\n<p class=\"injury-list__info-content\">\n                                                Noah sustained a knee injury in the pre-season match simulation against Fremantle. He will unfortunately be sidelined for the 2026 AFL Premiership season.\n                                            <\/p>\n<p>                                                    <a class=\"injury-list__info-article-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westcoasteagles.com.au\/news\/1960478\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><\/p>\n<p>                                                        Read Article<br \/>\n                                                    <\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n                                    Injury: Hamstring\n                                <\/p>\n<p>\n                                    Est. Return: Test\n                                <\/p>\n<p>\n                                    Injury: Calf\n                                <\/p>\n<p>\n                                    Est. Return: Test\n                                <\/p>\n<p>\n                                    Injury: Concussion\n                                <\/p>\n<p>\n                                    Est. Return: 1 week\n                                <\/p>\n<p>\n                                    Injury: Groin\n                                <\/p>\n<p>\n                                    Est. Return: 1-2 weeks\n                                <\/p>\n<p>\n                                    Injury: Calf\n                                <\/p>\n<p>\n                                    Est. Return: 3-4 weeks\n                                <\/p>\n<p>\n                                    Injury: Hamstring\n                                <\/p>\n<p>\n                                    Est. Return: 3-4 weeks\n                                <\/p>\n<p>\n                                    Injury: Knee\n                                <\/p>\n<p>\n                                    Est. Return: 5 weeks\n                                <\/p>\n<p>\n                                    Injury: Foot\n                                <\/p>\n<p>\n                                    Est. Return: 6-8 weeks\n                                <\/p>\n<p>\n                                    Injury: Ankle\n                                <\/p>\n<p>\n                                    Est. Return: 6-8 weeks\n                                <\/p>\n<p>                                <a class=\"injury-list__player-details\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westcoasteagles.com.au\/players\/11938\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.westcoasteagles.com.au\/resources\/v5.44.14\/i\/elements\/player-headshot-placeholder-light-v2.svg\" class=\"img injury-list__player-headshot js-injury-list__player-headshot js-faded-image fade-in-on-load\" alt=\"Sam Allen\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"injury-list__player-name\">Sam Allen<\/p>\n<p>                                <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"injury-list__info-content\">\n                                                Sam is continuing his football build. We are seeing him in more and more football activities, whilst also focusing heavily on his change of direction.\n                                            <\/p>\n<p>\n                                    Injury: Knee\n                                <\/p>\n<p>\n                                    Est. Return: TBC\n                                <\/p>\n<p>                                <a class=\"injury-list__player-details\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westcoasteagles.com.au\/players\/5375\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.westcoasteagles.com.au\/resources\/v5.44.14\/i\/elements\/player-headshot-placeholder-light-v2.svg\" class=\"img injury-list__player-headshot js-injury-list__player-headshot js-faded-image fade-in-on-load\" alt=\"Noah Long\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"injury-list__player-name\">Noah Long<\/p>\n<p>                                <\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"injury-list__info-content\">\n                                                Noah sustained a knee injury in the pre-season match simulation against Fremantle. He will unfortunately be sidelined for the 2026 AFL Premiership season.\n                                            <\/p>\n<p>                                                    <a class=\"injury-list__info-article-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.westcoasteagles.com.au\/news\/1960478\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><\/p>\n<p>                                                        Read Article<br \/>\n                                                    <\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n                                    Injury: Knee\n                                <\/p>\n<p>\n                                    Est. Return: Season\n                                <\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"High Performance Manager Phil Merriman has provided an update on West Coast\u2019s returning players By westcoasteagles.com.au Co-captain Liam&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":531931,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,83,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-531930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-text","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=531930"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/531930\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/531931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=531930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=531930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=531930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}