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West Coast Eagles defender Shannon Hurn forced to wait to break club games record because of calf injury

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Braden QuartermaineThe West Australian
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VideoWest Coast Eagles player Willie Rioli arrives at Darwin Local Court ahead of his hearing on allegations he was found in possession of cannabis.

West Coast veteran Shannon Hurn could play his record-breaking 291st game on the road against Greater Western Sydney on Sunday week, after being ruled out of Sunday’s home game against Adelaide at Optus Stadium.

While Hurn is set to miss his fifth straight game due to repeat calf injuries, the Eagles could get back key defenders Jeremy McGovern and Tom Barrass.

The returns of McGovern (groin) and Barrass (shoulder), who have both been listed as tests, would free up exciting utility Oscar Allen to return to the forward line at the perfect time given the doubt over spearhead Josh Kennedy.

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Kennedy has not yet been ruled out, but West Coast appear likely to take a conservative approach with the 33-year-old after scans revealed a small strain and cork to his calf.

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Livewire Liam Ryan won’t be back against the Crows, with the Eagles turning down his request to play in favour of giving him an extra week of training.

Hurn has also been listed as another week away, setting up the possibility of overtaking Dean Cox’s games record at Giants Stadium. If the former skipper’s return was delayed until round 11, he would play it at home against Essendon on a Saturday night.

Eagles football boss Craig Vozzo said McGovern and Barrass were well-placed to make their returns against the Crows.

“Gov is going well. He’s in his third week of recovery from that strain and he’s doing more and more training, more and more loading, and looking more and more confident,” Vozzo said.

“So like Tommy he’ll be a good chance to play if he gets through the week’s training.

“(Barrass) was just a fraction off so we didn’t take that chance. He’s improved even more with the rest and he’s a reasonable chance to play, but he’ll need to get through training this week and we’ll test it later in the week.”

West Coast forward Josh Kennedy is listed as a test for this Sunday’s clash against Adelaide as he deals with a calf injury.
Camera IconWest Coast forward Josh Kennedy is listed as a test for this Sunday’s clash against Adelaide as he deals with a calf injury. Credit: Ian Munro/The West Australian

Vozzo stopped short of ruling out Kennedy.

“It’s a corkie as well as a strain we found out, it’s only a small strain, on scan,” he told the club website.

“(He’s) still a possibility to play because he functioned really well with it for most of the game and then it tightened up towards the end of it.”

Defender Liam Duggan has been listed to miss five-to-six weeks following minor knee surgery, while youngster Isiah Winder will miss eight weeks with his knee injury.

Back-up ruckman Nathan Vardy has been listed as another one-to-two weeks away after missing the win over the Hawks with a plantar fascia issue.

Ryan has been listed as one week away with his shin stress injury, setting up a return against the Giants in round 10.

“Liam’s going well. He’s knocking the door down literally to play this week,” Vozzo said.

“But we’ll take a conservative approach based on the medical advice and give him one more week.

“He’s not in any pain at all and you see him running around at training and he looks really good. We’re very keen to get him back in the team as soon as possible but we’ll follow the doctor’s advice.”

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