West Coast Eagles star Harley Reid battles through back problem at training ahead of Collingwood clash

West Coast star Harley Reid was clearly troubled by a mysterious back ailment throughout Monday’s training session and spent more than an hour trying to find a solution to the problem which had him in obvious discomfort. The Eagles trained at Mineral Resources Park on Monday as they began preparations for Saturday night’s clash with Collingwood at Marvel Stadium, but all eyes were on Reid who couldn’t get comfortable at any point of the session. The star onballer looked ginger as the players warmed up with a series of run throughs and was constantly reaching for his back, twisting his body and performing stretches in a bid to shake off whatever was bothering him. But nothing that he tried allowed him to train with his usual freedom. He lay on the ground midway through the session to do back rolls in a bid to get relief but that had little impact. He was then back on the ground doing more stretches about 15 minutes later. He either reached for his back, performed a stretch or twisted his body dozens of times despite not playing last weekend because West Coast had their mid-season bye. Reid completed the entire session in a strong sign the problem is unlikely to be serious, but he will be determined to get to the bottom of why he couldn’t get loose at any point of a session that lasted about an hour. Experienced Eagle Elliot Yeo made a significant step as he attempts to return from knee and ankle injuries which have kept him sidelined for the entire season. Yeo completed the majority training session with his teammates in a key milestone for his quest to play footy this season. He spent an extended time de-briefing with the club’s fitness staff at the end of the session and will be hoping to build further in the coming weeks. The 31-year-old need to build his fitness during training before he’ll be considered for a game at any level and he also needs to focus on his skills after being unable to train. Yeo’s experience will be valuable for the young Eagles if he is able to return.