West Coast Eagles injury updates on Brandon Starcevich, Elliot Yeo and Jacob Newton

Brandon Starcevich’s horror start to life as a West Coast player has taken another massive hit with the defender now a chance to be out of action until June.

Starcevich joined the Eagles at the end of last season after winning two premierships at Brisbane and there were high hopes that he would be a valuable addition to the young team thanks to his experience, skill and hardness.

But the 26-year-old’s body has let him down ever since he got to Perth.

First, he injured his knee and was forced to watch the AFL Origin game from the sidelines, and then he damaged his calf. After a recent setback West Coast have decided to give him extended time for recovery before considering him for selection.

The club had been refusing to put a timeline on his latest injury but they have now committed to him being sidelined for 6-8 weeks.

“Building Brandon’s strength remains the priority,” West Coast high performance manager Phil Merriman said.

“He’s building resilience through low‑volume running and we’ll keep progressing him step by step.”

Starcevich said he was “trying to build some loads and get myself right” amid a calf issue that continues to linger.

“It’s not progressing as quickly as I’d like,” Starcevich said on 6PR.

“I had a setback… whenever it was, a couple of weeks ago now. I’m taking it a bit more slowly now and making sure everything’s good to go with it and I don’t have another (setback).

“I’m not rushing it and making sure that I’m good for a large part of the back end of the season.”

Injury-plagued star Elliot Yeo got better news than he’s experienced in recent years, with his groin injury only set to keep him out of action for up to a fortnight.

Yeo was in strong form against Port Adelaide on Sunday before being forced to the bench for the second half and that raised alarm bells given he missed all of last season after battling injuries between 2020-2023.

West Coast are confident the injury isn’t serious but won’t be taking any risks.

“Elliot felt some awareness in his adductor late in the second quarter against Port Adelaide, so a no-risk approach was taken,” Merriman said.

“Pleasingly, he has pulled up quite well and is expected to be available in the next one-to-two weeks.”

All eyes will be on co-captain Liam Duggan this week as he battles to recover from an ankle injury in time to face Sydney on Saturday.

There are also major concerns for youngster Jacob Newton after he suffered a fractured navicular in his foot for the second time in his career. That is the same injury that de-railed former Essendon captain James Hird’s career and forced Geelong defender Matthew Egan to retire.

“Scans have unfortunately confirmed Jacob has a fracture in his navicular,” Merriman said.

“Over the next few days, we will determine the exact management plan for Jacob but it is likely to be a longer-term injury.”

West Coast Injury List

Liam Duggan (ankle) test

Tom Gross (hamstring) test

Elliot Yeo (adductor) 1-2 weeks

Milan Murdock (hamstring) 3 weeks

Tyler Brockman (knee) 3-4 weeks

Jack Hutchinson (ankle) 4 weeks

Fred Rodriguez (foot) 5 weeks

Brandon Starcevich (calf) 6-8 weeks

Sam Allen (knee) 7 weeks

Harry Edwards (concussion) TBC

Jacob Newton (foot) TBC

Noah Long (knee) season