There are fresh hopes high-profile West Coast recruit Brandon Starcevich could make his club debut before the Eagles’ bye, with the two-time premiership player returning to full training this week.

Eagles coach Andrew McQualter told 7NEWS on Monday night he was hopeful the dual premiership defender was little more than a fortnight away from being able to take his first steps as an Eagle with the WAFL side.

West Coast have their bye in round 15, the last of the four rolling bye rounds, which is six weeks and five matches away.

The Brisbane defender who moved back to his native Western Australia via trade at the end of last season is yet to be sighted in blue and gold after being struck down with a calf injury in preseason.

The soft tissue blow came off the back of a minor ACL issue.

His return to play has never had a clear date, but McQualter said he was hopeful Starcevich was only a couple of weeks away from stepping onto the field for the first time in 2026.

“He’s getting really close,” he said.

“He’ll be in full football training now for the next few weeks and hopefully only a couple of weeks away from playing some managed minutes in the WAFL, which is great news for him and us.”

Should Starcevich gain a comeback through the WAFL in the next three weeks, the Eagles could be tempted to quickly usher the 26-year-old into the seniors, given how undermanned they are in defence with Harry Edwards having sustained a third concussion in as many matches in 2026, putting his AFL future in the air.

The Eagles have taken a cautious approach to injuries under McQualter and could also leave his senior return for round 16 against Carlton.

McQualter flagged on Monday that there was potential for burgeoning midfielder Elijah Hewett to earn an instant recall after he was dropped to the WAFL last weekend.

The 21-year-old was the Eagles’ best in a 61-point defeat at the hands of South Fremantle on Saturday with 27 disposals at 74 per cent efficiency.

Hewett had struggled since his return from injury, averaging just 10 disposals across his first three AFL contests of the season, playing in a forward role.

However, McQualter was pleased with the way the young engine room bull had responded against the Bulldogs and said with the WAFL on a bye for the state clash between West and South Australia, they would have discussions around bringing him back to AFL level to face GWS at Optus Stadium.

“He played well, and it was good to see him get back to his natural position and play well,” he said.

“The WAFL have a bye this week, so we’ll see how training goes and how Elijah’s pulled up, and work through our match committee through the week as to selection.”