WESTERN Bulldogs ruckman Jordan Roughead's vision remains hazy as he races to recover from a freak eye injury in time for the Grand Final.
Roughead was hit in the right eye with the footy at close range in the second quarter of Saturday's preliminary final against Greater Western Sydney and says he couldn't see out of the eye until after the game.
"The vision came back a fair bit on Saturday night post-game," he told AAP on Monday.
"Up until three-quarter time, I had absolutely no vision but it just gradually came back.
"It's still a little bit hazy but it seems to be healing well and we're positive about the prospects going forward."
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Roughead had a follow-up appointment with a specialist on Monday and says he will make a cautious return to training, with his recovery focused on draining residual blood from his eye.
"If I do too much, too early, it could bleed again and I could lose the vision again," he said.
"At the moment I'm on doctors' orders just sitting at home. I'll just take it easy over the next few days, hopefully get out there and do a little bit tomorrow and then train on Thursday."
Dogs general manager of football Graham Lowe said the club has created a plan for this week.
"Jordan bleed to his eye – it's called a hyphema – when the ball contacted his head," he said.
"We've sought specialized advice and with the help of a specialist we've created a plan for this week.
"We're going to access him to train later in the week, with a view to him being available for selection."
Roughead would be a huge loss for the Bulldogs if he can't recover in time for Saturday's Grand Final against the Sydney Swans at the MCG.
The 25-year-old was injured at a critical point of the game but doctors immediately made the decision to wrap him in cotton wool.
"I was a bit frustrated at that because I thought I'd have five or six minutes to see how it cleared up and get back out there," he said.
"There was no concussion or anything like that. It was a pretty weird one."
Tall forward Tom Boyd spent time in the ruck after Roughead was sidelined but struggled against experienced Giants big man Shane Mumford.
Tom Campbell looms as Roughead's most likely replacement if he is ruled out, with out-of-favour veteran Will Minson a long shot to make a Grand Final appearance after playing just two games this season.
"I've had my fair share of injuries and it's a pretty disappointing one," Roughead said.
"You're not expecting to go into a game and cop a footy to the face and miss the remainder.
"I guess that's all part of footy and fortunately the boys were bloody good on Saturday night and got the job done."
