Key Greater Western Sydney trio Stephen Coniglio, Phil Davis, and Matt de Boer have been ruled out for extended periods in nightmare news for the Giants, but forward Jesse Hogan is a chance to make his AFL return this week.
Coniglio will undergo ankle surgery after being diagnosed with a syndesmosis injury, and is expected to miss about eight weeks.
Davis (calf) and de Boer (hamstring) also received bad news from their scans.
“Unfortunately for Phil, he’s sustained a fairly significant soleus injury and we’re expecting him to miss around six weeks,” GWS head of medical Cullan Ball said.
“Really disappointing for Matthew, he’s been going so well. He’s ruptured one of the tendons in his hamstring that’s within the muscle.
“He doesn’t need an operation but it’s a significant injury and we’re expecting him to miss around 10 weeks.”
Harry Perryman is set to miss the next few weeks after being diagnosed with glandular fever.
“He was in at the club today for the first time in a couple of days which was good to see him back and around the boys again,” Ball said.
“He’s starting to look a bit better, feel a bit better and get his appetite back. I think he’s going to miss at least the next couple of weeks until he’s feeling well enough to get going again.”
Brent Daniels will be a test for this week after coming off during the match to have his ankle assessed.
He played out the match and is expected to line up against Collingwood at the MCG on Saturday night.
Hogan, who joined GWS from Fremantle during the trade period, is also available for selection this week after recovering from a quad injury.
Meanwhile, Lachie Whitfield is set to resume contact work this week as his return to play from a liver injury ramps up.
“Lachie saw his specialist last week and he’s given him the clearance to start some contact work so he’s going to start that this week which takes him a step closer to playing,” Ball said.
“He just needs to build a bit of fitness and match conditioning now and we’ll hopefully get him back in the next couple of weeks.”
The Giants are 0-3 after opening their season with losses to St Kilda, Fremantle and Melbourne.