JACK Darling "hasn't trained for one minute" of the pre-season and is likely to miss West Coast's season opener against the Western Bulldogs, coach Adam Simpson has conceded.
The 22-year-old has endured a nightmare pre-season due to a foot stress fracture he suffered in round 23 last year.
Darling has progressed to some straight-line running in recent weeks after spending the off-season in a moon boot, but he has still not trained with the main group all summer.
He is all but certain to miss the entire NAB Challenge and Simpson told AFL.com.au that Darling probably wouldn't make round one.
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"He hasn't trained for one minute," Simpson said.
"So he hasn't really kicked a ball since round 23 last year. He's having a massively interrupted pre-season.
"He hasn't missed a game really since his debut. It's the unknown.
"He's one of those guys who's got that body, he's an Adonis. I don't know how long it takes him once he's up and running to get his feel and his touch and game sense. That's an unknown.
"I think we're lucky in the sense that his skinfolds are 35. He's an elite athlete. But he just hasn't had a run at it."
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Darling has played 90 out of a possible 93 matches since making his debut in round one, 2011, kicked 158 goals and averaging 3.3 tackles per game. His value is remarkably undersold, given he has finished top-five in the Eagles' best and fairest each of the past three years.
Simpson knows he has a tough task replacing him early on.
"He's a utility, he can play as a key forward and he's one of the best pressure players in the competition," Simpson said.
"I don't think we can replace that type of player, but we can have a look at other avenues forward of play. What does Sharrod Wellingham bring to us this year? Can he play a role, albeit different, but that type of role that might be available?
"Does Josh Hill step up, does Simon Tunbridge take the next step?
"Do we play another tall? So we've got options and we'll trial all those options in the NAB Challenge."
Simpson is excited about what Wellingham could achieve this year. Despite being a premiership player with Collingwood in 2010, Wellingham has underachieved during his first two seasons at the Eagles due to injuries and poor form. But the coach is seeing signs of progress.
Sharrod Wellingham has impressed in pre-season after an indifferent 2014. Picture: AFL Media
"Getting the best out of him has been my ambition since I got here," Simpson said.
"I think this pre-season he's taken some giant steps forward with his work off the ball. We put a lot of time into it. The best thing he's done, though, is he's been so enthusiastic to give himself every opportunity.
"Since Christmas he has done everything he possibly can to play well and that's all we can ask. Hopefully he gets rewarded.
"We need to keep adding some spark in our midfield when we can and he's one of those guys who, when he's up and about, is very hard to stop.
"So we'll give him every opportunity both in the midfield and forward."
The Eagles also have some injury concerns in the midfield with Scott Selwood and Mark Hutchings both battling to be fit for round one.
Selwood is progressing well from his ankle surgery but Hutchings' recovery from a groin issue is not going quite as well.
Simpson said he would be ecstatic if both men were available for round one but believes it less than likely that the pair will line up against the Dogs at Etihad Stadium.
