Dale Morris faces a fitness test to be considered for his second VFL game of the season on Saturday after pulling up sore in his return from a knee injury.
Morris suffered a partially torn ACL during the pre-season and suited up for Footscray at Avalon Airport Oval in Werribee on Sunday. The 35-year-old played out the match, but pulled up sore.
Western Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said Morris would be monitored this week and has ruled him out of selection for Friday night’s AFL match against the Magpies.
"He's a bit sore (and) unlikely to be considered this week, it's a five day turnaround from the VFL and we'll see how he comes up for Saturday,” Beveridge said on Tuesday.
"He felt his way through the game and he's been out a while so we've got to make sure he's totally right before we bring him into the AFL scene.”
Beveridge allayed any fears that Morris’ ACL didn’t hold up to the hitout, instead saying the knee itself is stable, and that depending on how the week goes, he could play game number two on Saturday morning at VU Whitten Oval.
"He's a little bit sore in the knee, (the medial), which is a little bit different, nothing major but he's still a chance to play on Saturday but we'll wait and see,” he said.
“We were probably hoping he'd pull up a little bit better. It's still early, they only played Sunday. He says he's better today (Tuesday) than he was yesterday, and hopefully as the week rolls on he continues to improve and if he's cherry ripe he'll definitely play VFL level.”
Footscray play a doubleheader on Saturday with the Club’s VFLW team and will mark National Sorry Day by painting the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags on the ground. For full match information click here.