THE WESTERN Bulldogs have received excellent news regarding Daniel Cross's ankle injury, according to coach Rodney Eade.
Cross underwent exploratory surgery on Monday night on the ankle he injured in a tackle against West Coast on the weekend.
Eade said his hard-working midfielder could miss just one week with the injury, which involved a piece of debris getting caught in his joint.
"It was the best news we could have with it. He had a little bit of gristle taken out last night," Eade said on Tuesday.
"I was left a message from the doctor, and our physio has just spoken to the surgeon and he's a chance to play against Geelong, but more than likely against Collingwood the week after.
"I spoke to Daniel yesterday and if he missed only one or two weeks, he was really pleased with that, so I think he'll be in a positive frame of mind with the news."
Eade said the injury was sustained in the last quarter of Saturday's game, and was not something Cross had been carrying.
Robert Murphy will return to the side this weekend, while Scott Welsh is also available although will likely play in the VFL.
Shaun Higgins is on track for a round 21 return, while on the same weekend, Daniel Giansiracusa will come back via Williamstown in the VFL.
Eade said it was frustrating to pick up a handful of injuries at the business end of the season after having a relatively clean bill of health all season.
"You cope with that. Everyone gets injuries and we've got some players out, but that's fine," he said.
"We've got some players to come back in this week and it doesn't really matter the players you have out there, you've got to have the effort, which was missing on the weekend."
