WEST Coast is not ready to rule out any more long-term injured players for the season to open up an extra list spot for the AFL Mid-Season Rookie Draft as it decides how to best replace midfielder Jai Culley later this month. 

Culley, who was recruited in last year's mid-season draft, will miss the rest of the season as he prepares to undergo a knee reconstruction, opening one list spot that can be filled in the May 31 intake. 

The Eagles have senior players Jamie Cripps (ankle), Liam Ryan (hamstring) and Tom Cole (ankle) nursing long-term injuries, but coach Adam Simpson said the club was still preparing for all to play later this season. 

The coach said he was reluctant to put a player who could return in 2023 onto the inactive list to bolster the club's playing stocks in the short term. 

"You could, but if 'Crippa' is available at round 17 then someone has got to go off [the list]. So you do that at a risk," he said on Thursday. 

"We think they're all going to play this year, and that's the plan … between the end of the bye and round 16-17. 

"At the moment they are all desperate to come back as quick as they can, so they're all probably one or two weeks ahead of the scheduled time because they're hurting a little bit with what's happening on-field. 

"I wouldn't want to take away that opportunity from any of those players at the moment." 

The Eagles expect to have around 26 players available again this week, with premiership captain Shannon Hurn sidelined for one or two weeks with adductor soreness. 

Simpson said the club would also manage young midfielder Luke Edwards by using him as the substitute in Friday night's clash against Gold Coast at Optus Stadium. 

The next challenge for the Eagles is how to reintegrate several injured youngsters, including Campbell Chesser (knee), Brady Hough (hamstring), Noah Long (hamstring) and Elijah Hewitt (ankle) as they return across the next two weeks. 

"That will be really important in the next six weeks. A lot of them are young first- or second-year players, so we've got to keep an eye on that, because we don't want to re-injure them," Simpson said. 

"To stick them in there because they're young and talented players is one thing, which you're happy to do when you're nice and healthy. But to do it just because of necessity is a challenge. 

"We've just got to look after them as best we can. Whether they're sub, play a couple of games of WAFL, or whether they come straight back in, each player will be catered for differently. But we've got an eye on it."

The Eagles will continue to rotate their captaincy this week in the absence of injured skipper Luke Shuey and vice-captain Jeremy McGovern, with premiership defender Liam Duggan taking control this week. 

Duggan has been one of the Eagles' best performed players this season, moving into a midfield role in the past fortnight and averaging 23.3 disposals across his past four games. 

"He's very calm and very controlled and I've seen him step up in the last five weeks with what we're going through as a club," Simpson said.  

"He's been so supportive of our playing group and the coaches as well, like all of our leaders. No one's finding it more difficult than them and they're doing everything they can to step up. 

"We've played him onball for a couple of weeks, just to pinch-hit, and he'll probably do that again."

Gold Coast star Noah Anderson will be central to the midfield battle on Friday night after some outstanding form, including a 37-disposal, 10-clearance game against Melbourne in round eight, which earned 10 coaches votes. 

Simpson said another opportunity for first-year midfielder Reuben Ginbey to run with a star of the competition loomed. 

"I think he's gone to another level with (Touk) Miller being out of the side. I don't know him, but it looks like he's grown with the responsibility," Simpson said. 

"He's a high-end draft pick and very talented, but he's probably gone to another level the last few weeks and we're fully aware of it. 

"We've confronted some pretty good midfielders in the past few weeks and Reuben (Ginbey) has done a lot of learning, so he might have to keep learning."