WEST Coast will be forced into at least three changes for Saturday's top-eight clash against Adelaide, with unlucky ruckman Tom Hickey joining concussed youngster Daniel Venables and suspended half-back Lewis Jetta on the sidelines.
On his return from a two-week hamstring lay-off, Hickey sprained an ankle during the second quarter against Melbourne last Friday night.
After being helped from the field, he was able to return for the critical battle against Max Gawn as the Eagles surged home to clinch a 16-point victory.
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However, the 28-year-old will miss the Crows trip and is doubtful to be available to face the Western Bulldogs in round 11.
It could leave him only the following week's encounter with Sydney at the SCG to impress before coach Adam Simpson makes a decision whether Hickey or Nathan Vardy partners returning star Nic Naitanui.
Naitanui is back in full training but unlikely to return until after the round 13 bye – and could play at least one match in the WAFL.
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Venables is being handled carefully after suffering concussion, and Jetta is out for a week after the club decided against appealing his ban for rough conduct.
"Dan copped that very heavy knock in the second quarter, we're still going through our normal concussion protocols and testing," general manager of football Craig Vozzo said.
"He's not going to play this week, but we'll know more later in the week as to the severity of it, but we're treating it very cautiously.
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"For Tom Hickey, the ankle injury he sustained was quite significant, but with some medical help was able to get back onto the ground and play a pretty significant role for us.
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"But the injury is quite significant, we expect he'll probably miss one to two weeks with the sprain."
The Eagles are expected to regain sore defender Will Schofield, sending Oscar Allen back to the forward line, while Josh Rotham and Jackson Nelson are likely to come into consideration for Jetta's spot.
Veteran wingman Chris Masten is unable to push for a return due to a hamstring strain which kept him out of the shock WAFL loss to East Perth last Thursday night.
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Young tall Jarrod Brander also missed with a hamstring problem but should be available against Swan Districts.
The Eagles received some positive news with Tom Barrass (foot) likely to be back running on ground by next week at the latest, although the full-back is still two months away.
But young backman Harry Edwards has become the latest in a string of Eagles to succumb to a stress-related foot injury.
"We're adopting a very cautious approach with Harry being a first-year player, he'll be out for at least the next three or four weeks in a boot," Vozzo said.
"Then we'll assess his return to play from there."
