West Coast veteran Elliot Yeo and star recruit Milan Murdock tests for derby as Eagles sweat on Jack Graham

West Coast’s prospects of causing a western derby boilover could be bolstered by the return of Elliot Yeo and Milan Murdock, but there are concerns for another key Eagle.

Yeo has missed the past two games after being withdrawn at half-time in their round three win over Port Adelaide with an adductor issue, with the Eagles taking a cautious approach over his return.

However, high-performance manager Phil Merriman was confident Yeo would return this weekend along with star recruit Milan Murdock, who has missed the last three games with a hamstring strain.

“We made the decision not to play Elliot last week, and he is setting himself for this week,” Merriman said.

“Milan is ready to go this week and will look to complete his two main sessions in preparation to play on the weekend.”

Jack Hutchinson is also set to return to Eagles colours this week, though the mid-season recruit will make a comeback via the WAFL.

“Hutch has been tearing up the track and looks like he’ll be available on managed minutes in the WAFL this week and will be building minutes over the next few weeks,” Merriman said.

However their are concerns for Jack Graham, who injured his shoulder in the loss to Geelong and will be a test for the weekend.

“Graham hurt his shoulder against the Cats and will be assessed this week,” the Eagles said.

It compounds the loss of Deven Robertson, whose season was ended by an ACL injury as they prepare to face on the competitions best midfield in Fremantle.

“Dev has been through to see our surgeons, and the plan is to wait for his knee to settle down,” Merriman said.

“That will likely mean he will be in for surgery late next week.”

In better news, key defender Harry Edwards is set to rejoin training after progressing well through concussion protocols.

“We’ll continue seeking specialist advice, but we’ll start to see him filtering back into training,” Merriman said.

Draftee Fred Rodriguez is set for a West Coast WAFL debut next weekend, with the club to build his loads up from a foot injury.

“Fred will need to complete two main training sessions over the next 10 days, and hopefully we’ll see him back next week playing some managed minutes,” Merriman said.

West Coast Injury List

Elliot Yeo (adductor) test

Milan Murdock (hamstring) test

Jack Hutchinson (ankle) test

Jack Graham (shoulder) test

Fred Rodriguez (foot) 1 week

Brandon Starcevich (calf) 4-6 weeks

Sam Allen (knee) 7 weeks

Tyler Brockman (knee) TBC

Harry Edwards (concussion) TBC

Noah Long (knee) season

Jacob Newton (foot) season

Dev Robertson (knee) season