Milan Murdock’s incredible rise from mature-age hopeful to West Coast bolter is temporarily on hold after scans confirmed a moderate-grade hamstring injury.
The 25-year-old Murdock experienced hamstring soreness during Sunday’s win over North Melbourne and will miss the round three encounter with Port Adelaide on the road.
A likely return date has not yet been determined.
“Unfortunately, Milan felt some awareness in his hamstring during the match and scans have shown a moderate‑grade injury,” high performance manager Phil Merriman said.
“We’ll get a better sense of timeframes as the week goes on.”
Co-captain Liam Baker (ankle) and veteran Jamie Cripps (bruised shoulder) have both been cleared of serious injury and are on track to play against the Power.
But prized Brisbane Lions premiership recruit Brandon Starcevich is no closer to making his club debut with the club revealing the defender will require “an extended build” from knee and calf issues.
“Brandon has been prioritising strength for his calf and is getting started on some running progressions,” Merriman said.
“It will take some time to build his fitness back up having missed a large chunk of pre-season and games due to his knee and recurrent calf issues.
“We will update his return-to-play timeline as he progresses his workload.”
A trio of young Eagles could also be in the selection frame after recovering from injury.
Jack Williams (calf) and Elijah Hewett (quad) will be in the mix after brief layoffs, while tall defender Sandy Brock (ankle) is expected to rejoin the main training group on Thursday.
“Sandy will work through this week with the plan to join the main group for training on Thursday,” Merriman said.
Tom Gross is one to two weeks away from a return from a hamstring injury.
Murdock has made a remarkable start to his AFL career after only joining the Eagles a fortnight before the season, kicking two goals in each of his first two games and lighting up the West Coast forward 50 with energy and pressure.
He ranks among the league’s top 10 players for average contested possessions, tackles and ground-ball gets – despite not having attended a centre ball-up this season.
The East Fremantle product’s expected absence means West Coast will be forced into at least two changes against Port Adelaide on Sunday, with key defender Harry Edwards to miss through concussion.
“As we always do with concussions, we’ll take the appropriate steps and make sure Harry’s health is the priority,” Merriman said.