West Coast defender Jeremy McGovern only needs to complete his main training course this week to be ready for the trip to face Essendon at Marvel Stadium.
The four-time All-Australian has missed the last two matches due to the League’s concussion protocols..
“Jeremy just needs to train this week and perform well and he will be ready to play this weekend,” head of medical Mark Finucane told the West Coast Eagles.
Skipper Luke Shuey (hamstring) and Jamaine Jones (ankle) are just a week away from returning..
Shuey hopes to play in the RAC Derby, while Jones is preparing to return after a long injury absence since round 10 against Hawthorn in Tasmania.
“Luke has a big training session on Friday which will wrap up and if he gets through it and does well, we hope he will be available next weekend,” Finucane said.
“After his ankle surgery, Jamaine has had a very good training session over the past month, especially the past two weeks.
“He has another week to prepare this week and is ready to return to action next week.
The club have confirmed that Tom Barrass will miss the rest of the season, with reigning medalist John Worsfold recovering from a compression fracture in his back following a heavy fall against Richmond on Matchday 18.
“Tom during the incident he landed heavily.. in the match against Richmond fractured a vertebrae in the middle of his spine and that ruled him out for the rest of the season,” Finucane said.
Young midfielder Zane Trew will be tested this week after adductor soreness, while Coby Burgiel (hamstring) and Connor West (knee) are both ruled out after three weeks.
“Zane, after his last WAFL game his adductors were a little tighter, so he had a quiet week last week and will build on this week to show off his function..” his ability, so his decision will be made by the end of the week,” Finucane said.
“Coby continued to develop his functional soccer activities, but continued to develop his activities in the gym after his hamstring surgery.
“Since starting to run after knee surgery, Connor has improved significantly with each training session, has regained his health.. His self-control and running function are improving with each training session, so he is trying to compete at the end of the season.
Meanwhile, Jai Culley is doing well more than two months after his ACL reconstruction.
“Jai has now been out of action for 10 weeks after an ACL reconstruction and he is in the recovery phase of his muscle mass, so he is working very hard in the gym “, Finucane says.
“The knee itself feels nice and mellow and responds very well to this cumulative workload.. It’s not far to start the next stage, which is straight-line racing.
