WEST Coast spearhead Josh Kennedy denies he has suffered any setbacks with his sore calf, but has ruled himself out of Saturday night's clash with Melbourne.
Kennedy fell short of returning slightly ahead of schedule in last Thursday night's contest against Geelong coming off the bye, and the Eagles hoped the dual Coleman medallist would be available to face the Demons.
But it appears Kennedy will miss a third-straight game, after hearing a pop when he strained his calf against Greater Western Sydney in round 10.
"I'm probably not going to be playing this week, but in terms of progression the way the calf's been going everything's on track," Kennedy told westcoasteagles.com.au.
"There's been no setbacks or anything like that.
"My calf is travelling really good. I was back to normal running today, which was quite handy.
"I got my running session out the way and felt really good, there was no pain or no restrictions anywhere.
"I'm starting to get into a few leads and all that stuff, so I'll do a bit more training on Friday."
West Coast's forward line misfired in the first game without Kennedy, only booting 11 goals in a concerning loss to Gold Coast.
But the Eagles threw All Australian defender Jeremy McGovern into attack and played Drew Petrie as a stay-at-home forward with better results in their 13-point victory over the Cats.
Under-pressure tall Jack Darling also stood up with two goals, while Petrie kicked one major and offered an aerial presence alongside an impressive McGovern, who also pinch-hit in the ruck.
The Eagles will be forced into at least one change from the Geelong game after Jackson Nelson sustained a minor hamstring strain, with Sharrod Wellingham and Sam Butler the most likely candidates to take the dashing defender's spot.
Josh Kennedy gives an update on his calf injury --> pic.twitter.com/1gEww5fwQs
— West Coast Eagles (@WestCoastEagles) June 21, 2017