WESTERN Bulldogs young gun Sam Darcy is set for another stint on the sidelines after copping a significant corked quad last Thursday night, but midfielder Bailey Smith is on track to face Essendon on Friday night after returning to the Whitten Oval on Monday.
Darcy was forced to remain in Sydney after the team returned to Melbourne to allow extra time for his leg to settle after copping a blow to his quad in the two-point loss to the Swans at the SCG.
The 2021 No.2 pick suffered damage to muscle tissue and blood vessels which left him with internal bleeding and his leg in a brace at one point.
Darcy is expected to miss at least the next three games, ruling him out of the crucial top-eight clash against the Bombers at Marvel Stadium, next weekend's trip to Ballarat to host Greater Western Sydney at Mars Stadium and the meeting with Richmond in round 21.
The 19-year-old has been restricted to only seven senior appearances since arriving at the Western Bulldogs as a father-son pick.
Darcy sat out the first half of his debut season after arriving at the club with a stress fracture in his foot, then experienced an interrupted second pre-season at the club.
The 208cm utility missed a chunk of football in the middle part of this season after a small hole was discovered in his lung, before he fractured his jaw in his VFL return.
Smith didn't make the trip to New South Wales due to illness, but the midfielder has recovered and ran over the weekend.
The 22-year-old completed an off-legs session at the club on Monday and will play if he proves his fitness at Wednesday's main training session.
Luke Beveridge will be forced to make at least three changes at selection ahead of round 19 with James O'Donnell substituted out of the loss at the SCG due to concussion.
Lachie McNeil sustained a delayed concussion following the off-the-ball incident that resulted in Sydney co-captain Dane Rampe being handed a two-game suspension from Match Review Officer Michael Christian, with the Swans to challenge that ban.
The absence of Darcy could open the door for off-season recruit Rory Lobb to return to the senior side after being dropped last week, while Oskar Baker and Buku Khamis are also in the mix after strong VFL performances against Sydney's reserves.
The Dogs are still without two of their best defenders in Liam Jones and Jason Johannisen, but they are on track to return in the not-too-distant future.
Jones hasn't played since suffering a badly broken forearm against North Melbourne in round 14, but is understood to be progressing ahead of schedule after initially being expected to miss most, if not all, of the rest of the home and away season.
The Dogs are hoping to regain the key defender for the round 21 clash against the Tigers at Marvel Stadium.
Johannisen could return for the clash against the Giants next weekend, returning to the same venue where he injured his hamstring against Adelaide in round 10.
After being on the cusp of the top four a fortnight ago, back-to-back losses against Collingwood and Sydney have left the Dogs back in the pack, level with St Kilda, Essendon and Greater Western Sydney and just two points ahead of Carlton and Richmond with six rounds to play.
