Experienced defender Easton Wood and small forward Ben Cavarra are closing in on returns, as the Western Bulldogs face life without star midfielder Josh Dunkley.
Wood may only miss one more match, while round one debutant Cavarra is a chance to play a practice game against Collingwood later this week.
“Easton has commenced the final stages of his rehab following his quad strain,” medical services manager, Chris Bell, said.
“He will complete a game-like session this weekend, and at this stage, is on track to re-integrate back into training next week.
“Ben has progressed really well following his hand injury.
“He fully trained today, and we will work through a process with Ben towards the back-end of this week to determine if he is available to play in a practice game this weekend.”
The news however isn’t as positive for Dunkley, who sustained damage to the syndesmosis ligament in his ankle in the dying seconds of Friday night’s win against the GWS Giants.
“Josh is in a CAM boot for the next 3-4 weeks to allow the injury to heal,” Bell said.
“We will get a more accurate idea of his return to play plan once he comes out of the boot, but expect him to miss 6-8 weeks.”
Injury list
Ben Cavarra (hand) Test
Easton Wood (quad) 1-2 weeks
Taylor Duryea (quad) 2-3 weeks
Josh Dunkley (ankle) 6-8 weeks
Riley Garcia (knee) indefinite
