The Western Bulldogs could be bolstered by the return of Tom Boyd and Dale Morris if both are cleared fit to play against Melbourne this Sunday afternoon at Etihad Stadium.
Boyd missed last week’s game against the Swans with a back complaint but Bulldogs’ Head Physiotherapist Chris Bell said that 21-year-old is recovering well and could return to the side this weekend.
“Tom had a back spasm in the days leading up to the Sydney game. Since the weekend Tom has continued to make improvements with his back pain and we’ll monitor him over the next couple of days to make a decision on his availability.”
Veteran defender Dale Morris could also be in line for a recall if he too can get through training later this week without any issues.
Morris injured his ankle sindesmosis in the round ten clash with St.Kilda.
“These injuries can notoriously take a little bit longer to settle than a normal ankle injury, Bell said.
“We’re putting Dale through a process, he’s completed some modified training already and if he completes that training session on Thursday he’ll come back in line to availability this week.”
Clay Smith is another player who could return against the Demons after recovering from a calf injury. He too will need to prove his fitness later in the week, while Robert Murphy has recommenced running after his hamstring injury and arthroscope to his knee.
However, Bell said it’ll still be a little while before the skipper is back out on the park.
“At the moment he’s still on track to return to play in the next two to three weeks.”
In better news for the Club, Josh Prudden has recovered well from his hamstring injury and is a chance to return for Footscray this weekend against Casey on Saturday night.
“Josh has continued to progress really nicely in his rehab following his hamstring injury, Bell said.
“If he gets through a full training session this Thursday he’ll be in line to return to some controlled minutes this weekend.”
And in some unfortunate news, first year player Fergus Greene is set to spend time on the sidelines after falling awkwardly in the VFL on Friday night against Essendon.
“Fergus had a fall in the VFL on the weekend and hurt his wrist. That’s actually fractured a bone in his forearm and he’ll be in a cast for the next six to eight weeks so he’s going to miss a little bit of football for the next period of time.”
