Jeremy McGovern's long-awaited AFL return has been put on hold for at least another week after the star West Coast defender pulled up sore from training.
McGovern tore his hamstring in the round three western derby loss to Fremantle and was on track to return for Saturday's clash with Sydney at the SCG.
But the four-time All-Australian was left feeling flat after pulling up sore in his hamstrings from Wednesday's main training session.
Premiership defenders Tom Barrass (hip) and Liam Duggan (leg) will return against the Swans, but the continued absence of McGovern is a huge blow to West Coast's hopes of rebounding from their embarrassing 122-point loss to Adelaide.
"He fully trained yesterday. He just pulled up a bit tight so we've just got to be careful," Eagles coach Adam Simpson told reporters on Thursday.
"(He pulled up tight) mainly in the hamstrings area. Not necessarily the (previous) injury, but it's just been a long time.
"He'll be another week or two. We were really pushing for this week and our expectation was that he was going to play, but the way he pulled up yesterday was probably a sign that he wasn't fully ready."
Simpson said the sight of McGovern training alongside his other defensive stars had given the team plenty of excitement, and it was a disappointment when the soreness set in.
"He's flat. It was actually really exciting seeing McGovern, Barrass, Duggan and Hurn training yesterday - all those guys together with some younger players.
"It was probably round three the last time we had that look. But we haven't got it.
"So yeah, he (McGovern) was disappointed. We're all a little bit disappointed, but there's also a reality of the extent of the injury."
Hurn (hamstring) is on track to return for next week's home clash with St Kilda, while Jamie Cripps (ankle) and Tom Cole (ankle) are two to four weeks away.
Forward Jake Waterman, who spent eight days in hospital with a stomach infection, is set to be sidelined for at least several weeks.
"He's in the recovery process at the moment, so I think football's the last thing on his mind," Simpson said.
"I actually don't know the extent of the seriousness of it either. I haven't been debriefed to the point yet, because he's still still pretty raw.
"So when he's comfortable expressing what happened and how he's going, then we can talk about it."
Bottom-placed West Coast (1-12) are on a club-record 11-match losing streak and have a woeful percentage of 51.4.
Sydney (5-8) are in 15th spot, with last year's grand finalists in desperate need of a percentage-boosting win over West Coast to breathe new life into their finals hopes.
