WESTERN Bulldogs forward Robert Murphy could miss just two games after scans on Monday showed his injured hamstring wasn't as bad as first thought.

The Dogs are buoyed by the medical report received by Murphy after originally fearing the severity of the injury sustained in the first quarter of Saturday's game.

"It is better news than we first anticipated," Bulldogs' football manager James Fantasia told afl.com.au on Monday night.

"He's got a slight grade one tear in the sheaf of the hamstring, not in the muscle, and effectively, he'll miss a couple of weeks.

"We're hoping it's just the two weeks. It's a better report than we were expecting."

Fantasia conceded Murphy was disappointed with the latest setback, given his season started just four weeks ago after a pre-season knee operation delayed his return to the field.

"There's a little bit of frustration in it for him, especially because he was just starting to string some games together," he said.

"It's also frustrating for our fans, because they were just starting to see signs of him (in) full flight.

"In saying that, it's good news that it's not as bad as we first thought it could be."

The Bulldogs are "very confident" Shaun Higgins has recovered from the sore groin that has kept him out for the past two weeks, and that the young forward will be available to replace Murphy in the side this weekend.

"He trained last week to about 80 per cent and just in the end, right at the death knock, we thought it was best that he miss," Fantasia said.

"We're expecting him to be at full flight."

Fantasia also said defender Ryan Hargrave was a good chance to face Geelong on Friday night after being a late withdrawal from Saturday's game with a quad injury.

However, Dylan Addison and Andrejs Everitt will be monitored and tested during the week after picking up minor ailments on the weekend.

"Dylan finished the game off but got a knock, so he'll be a test this week," he said.

"There's nothing that came up today apart from general soreness, so we'll see how he pulls up.

"Andrejs hurt his foot, so we'll have a look at him this week as well. He got through the game as well, but he's got a sore foot and he looked ginger today.

"He had x-rays today but they came back all good, so there is no bone damage. It was just a precaution more than anything else.

"The only issue is we have a six-day turnaround, but we're keeping our fingers crossed for all those guys with soreness."

Stephen Tiller was Williamstown's best player on the weekend in his return from a groin injury.