West Coast midfielder Elliot Yeo's recovery timeline has been confirmed by the club, with the experienced star to miss up to two months of the AFL season.
Yeo fortunately avoided a serious ACL tear after landing awkwardly in a tackle in January, but sustained syndesmosis in his right ankle and damage to the medial ligament in his knee.
The Eagles initially hoped Yeo would be available early in the season but were unsure of a specific timeline until after the 31-year-old underwent surgery on his ankle.
After a number of injury-plagued seasons, Yeo found consistency in 2024 and played 20 games, averaging 22.5 disposals, 6.5 tackles and 6.9 clearances.
West Coast high performance manager Mat Inness said Yeo was back running but was a few weeks away from engaging in football drills again.
โElliot is back running and will continue to increase his loads over the next few weeks before we see him in some training drills,โ Inness said.
Meanwhile, defender Rhett Bazzo is on the cusp of healing from pre-season foot surgery that repaired a fracture from a training incident last year,
Bazzo is among many Eagles defenders vying for regular selection in the Eagles' best back six as the departure of veteran Tom Barrass presents an opening into the side.
A promising young backman, Bazzo was struck with a significant groin concern in 2024 after playing 20 games across his first two seasons, limited to one appearance for the season in Round 24.
The 21-year-old is approximately a fortnight away from returning to action.
โRhett is progressing well and we expect to see him in some match sim at training later in the week,โ Inness said.
โHe's still a couple of weeks away from being available for AFL selection as we continue to build his training loads up to help increase his durability.โ
Campbell Chesser, who underwent surgery to ensure his durability in 2025, has an unclear timeline for return, at least for the next couple of weeks, while key defender Callum Jamieson continues to attack knee and ankle rehab.
Youngster Elijah Hewett is expected to rejoin main training this week after a "freshen-up" following general soreness.
โElijah has had a great pre-season to date,โ Inness said.
โDue to him missing last season through injury, we've used this period to freshen him up as we do from time to time.
โHe will be back in training towards the back end of this week, and we expect him to full train next week.
โCampbell had a successful operation on his pre-existing ankle issue.
โWe will be in a position to put a timeframe around his expected return to play in the coming weeks.
โCal is progressing his training load and is transitioning into drills after his knee and ankle surgery from last season.
โHe is still a number of weeks away from being available as we continue to increase his condition and durability."
The Eagles host Gold Coast at Optus Stadium in Round 1 on Sunday, March 16.
West Coast Injury List:
Rhett Bazzo Foot 2-3 weeks
Campbell Chesser Ankle TBC
Callum Jamieson Ankle/Knee 6-8 weeks
Dom Sheed Knee Season
Elliot Yeo Ankle/Knee 6-8 weeks
