THE WESTERN Bulldogs will be without key forward Tom Boyd and dashing half-back Jason Johannisen for the opening round of the season and possibly longer, with the key pair making gradual progress in their recoveries from serious injuries.

Boyd is set to be sidelined for up to a further three months as he battles a debilitating back injury, while Johannisen could return in round two or three at the earliest after a syndesmosis ankle sprain at training earlier this month.

Bulldogs medical services officer Chris Bell said the club would take a cautious approach with Boyd's "volatile" injury.

"Tom Boyd is continuing in the recovery following the back injury that's hampered his pre-season. He's making some really positive gains in his running and strength," Bell said.

"We know that this injury can be volatile so we're not rushing him and we're not setting any concrete timelines on his return to play.

"But at this stage we're hoping he'll come back into full training within the next eight to 12 weeks."

Johannisen suffered the ankle injury while being tackled at training on February 8.

"'JJ' is out of his (moon) boot and we've got him in a really aggressive rehab plan to get him back playing," Bell said.

"At this stage we've got him being back in full training availability in the first few weeks of the season."

Midfielder Lin Jong is still six to eight weeks away from a return after suffering a serious hamstring injury at training a few weeks ago.

"Lin Jong suffered a high-grade hamstring strain from an over-reaching mechanism. We do have him back up and running and he's progressing well along that rehab plan," Bell said.

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"At this stage, given the extent of his injury, we want to be slow with his speed return so we're planning a return to play within six to eight weeks."

Bailey Dale (ankle) is two to three weeks away from being able to join full training, while Lukas Webb (neck) is in the final stages of his rehab.

Webb, who sustained the serious neck injury in the VFL last season, is set to be available to play in the first few weeks of the season once he completes important strength tests on his neck.