Young West Coast midfielder Elijah Hewett will fly to Melbourne to visit a specialist to help build strength in his foot as he deals with sesamoiditis.
The 2022 first-round draft selection battled with inflammation in his foot during his debut season last year and has been on a limited program this pre-season, with the Eagles now taking the needed measures for their emerging onballer.
In a conservative move to aid Hewett's longevity, the Eagles will fly Hewett to Victoria to meet with Dr Sue Mayes of the Australian Ballet.
โElijah has had some sesamoid pain for the last couple of years that he's been playing with,โ Eagles high performance manager Mat Inness said via a club update.
โHe's still aware of the symptoms so we are going to send him to see a specialist physio who deals with these things regularly and we'll provide an update in due course as to Elijah's progress.โ
Hewett managed 14 games in his maiden AFL campaign last year, playing in the final 10 games of the home and away season to show exciting signs as a player for the future at West Coast.
His current injury battle adds to Adam Simpson's pre-season woes, with the Eagles set to start the new season without small forward Liam Ryan due to a hamstring injury, while a handful of others are currently under injury clouds.
Reigning best and fairest Tim Kelly is currently nursing a hamstring matter of his own, while Dom Sheed (foot), Josh Rotham (groin), Coby Burgiel (hamstring) and Archer Reid (knee) are also in the casualty ward.
The Eagles have upcoming pre-season hitouts with Fremantle and Adelaide from later this month in the lead-up to their Round 1 affair with Port Adelaide on Sunday, March 17.
