West Coast veteran Elliot Yeo will miss the beginning of the AFL season after tweaking his calf at coaching.
Yeo suffered the damage at coaching on Tuesday, with scans revealing a small tear.
The 29-year-old has been dominated out of Saturday’s conflict with North Melbourne at Marvel Stadium however the Eagles are hopeful the damage will not maintain him out for lengthy.
The setback is a bitter blow for Yeo, who has been ravaged by accidents over the previous three years.
“While it is disappointing for Elliot and the club that he won’t play against North Melbourne, we are taking a no-risk approach with a full season ahead of him,” West Coast soccer supervisor Gavin Bell informed the membership’s web site.
“As our senior coach Adam Simpson has mentioned previously, it is not unexpected that some players returning from long-term injury issues could face some hurdles on their paths back to playing regular senior football.
“Encouragingly, Elliot has loved a superb pre-season so far. We are optimistic that is solely a minor pace bump and anticipate he will probably be again in motion quickly.”
The Eagles will also be without Nic Naitanui (achilles) against the Kangaroos but back-up ruckman Bailey Williams has been cleared to play after overcoming a tight hamstring.
West Coast will unleash three AFL debutants in round one – Campbell Chesser, Reuben Ginbey and Noah Long – while former Demon Jayden Hunt will play his first game for the club.
Chesser, the No.14 pick from the 2021 national draft, was on track to debut in round one last year before suffering a serious ankle injury during the pre-season.
Ginbey, pick No.9 in last year’s draft, impressed during the club’s pre-season hitout against Adelaide and is already being labelled a future star.
Long was a more speculative pick at No.58 last year but his impressive summer campaign catapulted him to a surprise round-one berth.
Meanwhile, West Coast have re-signed defender Brady Hough and ruckman Callum Jamieson till the top of 2025.
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
