THE WESTERN Bulldogs face a selection quandary after the season-ending injury to midfielder Lin Jong, with some of his possible replacements having limited game time in recent weeks.
Koby Stevens and Bailey Williams loom as inclusions for next Friday night's semi-final against the loser of Friday night's qualifying final between Geelong and Hawthorn, but the pair won't have played since the round 23 loss to Fremantle if they're rested from VFL finals on Sunday.
With only five days between Footscray's semi-final against Essendon and next Friday's AFL semi-final, Luke Beveridge would be wise to keep a few players in reserve.
Fellow midfielders Mitch Honeychurch and Lukas Webb are also potential replacements for Jong, after playing well in Footscray's qualifying final loss to Casey last weekend.
Jong will undergo surgery on Friday on the collarbone broken during the second quarter of the Dogs' stirring elimination final win over West Coast.
The 23-year-old was visibly emotional on the bench after receiving the injury in a crunching tackle from Eagle Jeremy McGovern in the second quarter.
Leading sport physician Dr Peter Larkins said the nature of the injury would see Jong unable to play any further part in the finals.
"The broken collarbone in AFL circles is traditionally treated with a plate and screws and the timeframe (on the sidelines) on average is six weeks," Larkins told AFL.com.au.
Lin Jong was left in tears on the bench following this injury to his shoulder. #AFLFinals https://t.co/Wx6nQ3qm5V
— AFL (@AFL) September 8, 2016
"It's not the sort of injury you can cheat on and he'll be (operated) on today.
"His normal recovery wouldn't see him play in the next three to four weeks."
With speculation Jong is seeking a fresh start at another club after playing just 38 games in five seasons at Whitten Oval, Larkins said the injury wouldn't hinder his preparations for next season.
Jong toured Collingwood's facilities mid-season and has been recently linked with a move to Gold Coast.
In better news for the Bulldogs, the gamble to play Tom Liberatore (ankle), Easton Wood (ankle) and Jack Macrae (hamstring) after injury lay-offs was an inspired one, with the important trio pulling up well.
Libbin' la vida finals #AFLFinals #ohwhatafeeling https://t.co/pMsgNiHgt3
— AFL (@AFL) September 8, 2016
Larkins said the Dogs were "nervous" over their stars' fitness heading into the Eagles clash, but the bold move had paid off on such a high-stakes occasion.
'Liberatore is an exceptionally quick return from surgery he had, but it was a bit different the syndesmosis procedure he had, so they the Dogs did really make the right decision," Larkins said.
"He seemed to get through OK, Easton Wood was lucky because he didn't have the full syndesmosis damage, but Macrae was a real risk with his hamstring.
"If it was a normal home and away game you probably wouldn't have played any of them."