WEST Coast captain Luke Shuey will be sidelined for at least a month after a double injury blow, with the Norm Smith medallist suffering ankle and hamstring setbacks in last Saturday's loss to Port Adelaide.
Shuey injured his left ankle early in the round six loss when it was twisted in a tackle from Power midfielder Ollie Wines, but he played on until being substituted out of the match in the third quarter.
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Scans of the ankle revealed ligament damage and bone bruising, but Shuey also reported hamstring tightness after the match, which the Eagles will treat during his time on the sidelines.
The 32-year-old suffered a hamstring injury in the round three Western Derby and was returning from that setback on Saturday when he again experienced tightness.
It is another frustrating blow for the senior Eagle, who made a bright start to 2023 and largely avoided soft-tissue injuries last season before signing a one-year contract extension.
West Coast head of health Mark Finucane said the club would take a cautious approach with Shuey as he recovers from both setbacks.
"Luke got caught up in the tackle in the first quarter and injured his ankle, Finucane said.
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"After some treatment it was re-taped he went back out but just felt like he couldn't function to the level required, so he was subbed out.
"After the game he cooled down and unfortunately he's aware of some hamstring tightness as well.
"With the scan results of the ankle, the ligament damage and some bone bruising, we are going to take a cautious approach with Luke both with the ankle injury and his soft tissue history."
West Coast said premiership captain Shannon Hurn would be available for Saturday's clash against Carlton if he completed training this week.
The club also provided timelines for several injured players, with hopes that up to five young players – including Campbell Chesser, Brady Hough, Elijah Hewett and Noah Long – can return to action in the next one to three weeks.
"Noah has taken a little while for the hamstring to settle down, but he's now comfortable and running strongly," Finucane said of Long.
"We won't take any risks with our first-year players and he will take the time to progress through a fully program.
"Elijah has again been the professional athlete and he has looked after it nicely, so hopefully we see him playing in the next couple of weeks."
Chesser has progressed to straight line running and is out of a knee brace, Finucane said, as he closes in on more agility training and football work.
The Eagles said ruckman Nic Naitanui was at least seven weeks away from returning from an Achilles injury, with Dom Sheed meeting a throat specialist again this week to determine his availability.
