VETERAN West Coast forward Mark LeCras is facing several weeks on the sidelines after succumbing to a hip complaint that coach Adam Simpson admits has affected the sharpshooter's form.

LeCras was a late withdrawal from the Eagles' loss to GWS in round 10 due to a sore hip.

The 30-year-old returned the following week against Gold Coast before the bye and played in last round's win over Geelong, but has failed to fire.

LeCras is in the midst of the longest goal drought of his career – having booted 0.9 in his past four games – and had just 10 touches against both the Suns and Cats.

"He's just not playing at a level that he can hold his position in the side with carrying that injury as well, he can't get to his best," Simpson said.

"We need to shut him down for a week or two and build him back up.

"People play injured all the time, so it's not an excuse. He just probably can't reach the same levels physically with that injury, so we give him a few weeks off."

LeCras' form has come under heavy scrutiny recently. He started the season strongly – booting 10 goals in his first four games – but has only added another seven majors in seven appearances since.

However, Simpson argued that rating LeCras' performances purely on scoreboard impact was flawed.

"I think the most important thing about LeCras' form is what I think of it," he said.

"Some of the things he does off the ball and how he's played at stages this year we've been really pleased with, so I won't worry about that (external criticism).

"You can't just rate players on goals, I mean, come on. It's an important part of someone's game, but the Essendon game I think he had 18 (14) touches and kicked three points.

"Are we saying if two of those were goals we'd be happy? We need to move on from that one (topic)."

After three straight losses, the Eagles (7-5) got their season back on track with a determined victory over the Cats last round.

It was their first win without at least one goal from LeCras or injured spearhead Josh Kennedy in four years.

Kennedy will miss his third straight game against Melbourne after straining his calf against the Giants, and is no certainty to be back against the Bulldogs or Port Adelaide in coming weeks.

"His previous Achilles issues that he's had, those two combined (with his calf), has just made it a slower comeback, but there's been no setbacks," Simpson said.

"He trained today and trained well, so hopefully (he's available) next week, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was longer than that."

The Eagles have brought in Josh Hill and Malcolm Karpany for Saturday night's clash, opting against replacing defender Jackson Nelson (hamstring) with a like-for-like backman.

The Demons haven't won in Perth against the Eagles since 2002, and will have to overcome the losses of co-captain Nathan Jones (quad) and Jack Watts (hamstring).

However, Melbourne regains All Australian ruckman Max Gawn for the first time since round three following hamstring surgery.

Eagles big man Scott Lycett was considered for his first AFL game this year, but needs more time in the ruck at East Perth coming back from shoulder surgery.