Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli has another injury concern but has been declared fit to play against Port Adelaide on Friday night.
Dogs coach Luke Beveridge has revealed Bontempelli is also battling a heel problem on top of the knee issue that he has been carrying since the heavy defeat to Geelong three weeks ago.
Veteran Tom Liberatore will need a month to recover after undergoing knee surgery, but his future is still clouded while he remains under concussion protocols.
Bontempelli began training alongside ruckman Tim English in the Bulldogsโ rehab group and took only a limited part in the clubโs main session on Wednesday, as forecast by Beveridge.
โItโs pretty obvious to you heโs had a sore knee, but heโs had a bruised heel that heโs been dealing with,โ Beveridge said.
โThatโs the main thing Iโve been worried about. Itโs the main reason he was limping a bit in the game just gone, but heโs been able to deal with that, manage it a little bit with our medicos, and heโs pretty confident he should be available.โ
Bontempelli is one of the most durable players in the competition, missing only 12 games since his debut in 2014. Coming off four straight losses, the Dogs do not have the luxury of giving their superstar player a week off to rest.
โItโs a pretty high bar as far as the pain threshold for him with discomfort, and he wants to play,โ Beveridge said.
โWeโre not going to talk him out of doing that. Heโd be the first to tell us. Heโs missed a game here and there, as you know, and he missed the start of last year because he had to, but if heโs really compromised in anything, then he definitely wonโt play, and weโre not at that point at the moment.โ
English returned last round after missing three games with a knee injury. He spent the first part of training running on the boundary line but joined in later drills.
Veteran midfielder Adam Treloar, who missed the loss to Fremantle while being managed, will not return this week or play in the VFL due to Footscray having a bye.
โHis high-intensity running side of his game, which has always been a great strength of his, is just compromised at the moment,โ Beveridge said. โSo heโs working out whether he can get to that point where itโs really going to challenge opposition midfields at AFL level.โ
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