WEST Coast skipper Shannon Hurn and star defender Jeremy McGovern appear on track to face North Melbourne on Saturday, while big man Nathan Vardy is set to mount his selection challenge after overcoming his injury woes.
Hurn was put through his paces at training on Tuesday morning and showed no signs of the slight calf strain which kept him out of Sunday's tight win over Melbourne in Alice Springs.
Shannon Hurn looks likely to lead the Eagles out against North. Picture: AFL Photos
The dependable backman ran laps, joined in full skills work and then completed some high-speed straight line running at Mineral Resources Park.
The game against the Demons was just the third Hurn has missed since taking over the captaincy at the start of 2015.
IN THE MIX Who's pushing for selection in R19?
Fellow defender McGovern, who went down late with an ankle concern against Melbourne, was walking freely on Tuesday despite missing training, and is expected to be cleared to play.
"Unfortunately with Shannon he had that slight calf strain in our captain's run over in the Northern Territory. He's pulled up quite well and we'll do some more work with him through the week and he'll be a test later in the week," football manager Craig Vozzo said.
"We were all holding our breath when big Jeremy went down in that last quarter, but he came on and finished the game quite strongly.
"He's got, basically, a sprained ankle. We're hoping that we get enough recovery this week.
"He'll do some more work on Thursday, take it easy until then and we're hoping he'll be available."
The Eagles' lengthy injury list is starting to diminish, with Vardy (knee/ankle), Brendon Ah Chee (calf), draftee Xavier O'Neill (hip) and category B rookie Patrick Bines (hernia) likely to return in the WAFL against Subiaco.
FULL INJURY LIST Who's ruled out and who's a test?
Tagger Mark Hutchings (hamstring) trained strongly on Tuesday but he and youngster Harry Edwards (foot) are another week away.
Important forward Jamie Cripps (abductor) and half-back Liam Duggan (ankle) could be back in a fortnight and managed some light rehab work with Nic Naitanui (ankle).
A sore Jamie Cripps during the clash against Collingwood. Picture: AFL Photos
"Jamie has made some really good progression, probably faster than we all expected with that abductor injury," Vozzo said.
"He's been ramping up his training probably ahead of schedule and we're expecting he's probably another two or three weeks (away).
"Liam with his ankle syndesmosis injury is probably further advanced than we expected. He has started kicking as well as some change of direction with his running.
"We're expecting two to three weeks and he'll be available to play."
The Eagles hope hard-running wingman Josh Smith, who jogged laps at training, will be available close to the start of finals after avoiding hamstring surgery.
