Waters 50-50 for further surgery
West Coast vice-captain Beau Waters is a 50-50 chance to have further surgery on a troublesome shoulder problem, according to coach Adam Simpson.
The Eagles held their first open training session of 2014 at McGillivray Oval this morning and while the injury-prone Waters was on the track, he was unable to join in full drills with his teammates due to complications with a right shoulder problem he had surgery on during last season.
Simpson confirmed the defender had suffered an infection in the shoulder and had been forced to take the screws that had been inserted out earlier than planned.
“The procedure he had was successful,” he said.
“But there was a little bit of an infection in the shoulder.
“Hopefully it’s been in long enough.”
Simpson said they should know what the prognosis was within a fortnight.
“We’ll find out in the next couple of weeks where he’s really at with his shoulder.
“To see if it holds up.
“(It’s a) 50-50 chance … whether he needs another bout of surgery or not. Fingers crossed.”
Simpson was unsure how long another bout of surgery would keep the 27-year-old 2012 All-Australian out for.
“We’ll have to find out what the damage is if he needs it or not,” he said.
“It could be a lengthy one if he needs it.
“He’s a quality player. The leadership presence he has on the track is vital.
“He’d done a lot of pre-season, most of the pre-season.
“It wasn’t a collision injury, he didn’t do anything out of the ordinary, it just got infected.”
Star ruckman Nic Naitanui continues to train away from the main group, while Sharrod Wellingham, who missed much of his debut season with West Coast due to ankle injuries, arrived at the session late and jogged laps away from his teammates.
It is understood Wellingham had been at a wedding over the weekend and he doesn’t have any fresh injury concerns.
But the remainder of the group, including troubled forward Murray Newman, trained hard for about an hour and a half as the temperature climbed above 30C.
Young forward Jack Darling spent time in the midfield during full oval drills.
