Young Western Bulldogs star Jamarra Ugle-Hagan's return date from a personal matter remains unknown to coach Luke Beveridge, who has revealed the former No.1 pick is unlikely to be available for next week's trip to Western Australia.
Ugle-Hagan was left out of Beveridge's squad to face St Kilda on Thursday night after deciding to return to Warrnambool to be with family this week.
While Beveridge couldn't provide an update on the youngster's wellbeing, the Dogs coach said the club is supporting him in a time of need.
Speaking after his side's 60-point win over the Saints, Beveridge said there was no clear timeline for Ugle-Hagan's return.
"It's a bit of an unknown at the moment," he said.
"He's got a few things to take care of back home. I can't really comment too much. With these personal assignments, you've got to be sensitive to the privacy of 'Marra' and his family.
"Hopefully it won't be too long (before he returns), but it won't be this week. We'll wait and see."
The Western Bulldogs came away from the win with few concerns. Beveridge revealed after the game that young utility Laithan Vandermeer passed testing after suffering a head knock before being subbed out.
Beveridge detailed that Vandermeer was required to undergo a 15-minute testing period, leaving the club to decide to replace him with tactical sub Ryley Sanders instead of awaiting results of the test.
"We thought he was fine, he thought he was fine," Beveridge said.
"He got hit pretty hard but he bounced up pretty quickly, so they just wanted to check him out. They needed to test him and that's why we subbed him out, because it was going to take 15 minutes.
"As it stands, he passed the test, but Tom (Liberatore) passed it last week. So all I'll say is he's passed the test. Hopefully he's okay."
Liberatore is expected to be available for selection for the Dogs' Round 7 clash with Fremantle next Saturday after the veteran midfielder was placed in concussion protocols despite being cleared of head trauma last week.
Beveridge said Liberatore was "fine" following his fall during Round 5 and has continued to be monitored since.
Dogs duo Harvey Gallagher (knock) and Rory Lobb (ankle) both shook off injury concerns during the club's win over St Kilda.
The victory sees Beveridge's side rise to seventh on the ladder ahead of their meeting with the Dockers.
