The AFL's new interchange system has convinced Andrew Embley to undergo surgery on his troublesome left shoulder, with the premiership midfielder now set to miss the next three to four months.
Embley's left shoulder popped out for the second time this year in the Eagles' 108-point mauling of Melbourne on Saturday.
The 233-game veteran had the option of playing on with the injury, much like Fremantle's Nat Fyfe did last season.
But with the risk of suffering another dislocation relatively high, Embley opted to have surgery.
West Coast coach John Worsfold said it was the right decision in respect to the team given the alterations made to the interchange system at the start of last year.
"With only having three on the bench, plus a sub now, if you lose a player early in a game then you are potentially a little bit disadvantaged if you happen to get another injury at some point," Worsfold said on Wednesday.
"So just weighing that up, weighing up the likelihood that it may dislocate again, looking at how easily it came out last time, it really meant that there was too much risk of continuous dislocations. So we decided to get it fixed."
Embley's setback is another major blow to West Coast, which has already lost star forward Mark LeCras (knee) for the season and fellow goal sneak Mark Nicoski (hamstring) for 12-14 weeks.
Nicoski remains in a Perth hospital after being struck down by a high fever following a second round of surgery on his damaged hamstring.
Worsfold said the 28-year-old was battling a suspected infection, but his playing return would not be delayed by the latest setback.
The injuries have failed to put a dent in West Coast's early-season form, with the Eagles notching big wins over the Bulldogs (49 points) and Melbourne (108).
West Coast is expected to notch another big win on Sunday when it takes on Greater Western Sydney in Blacktown.
Such is the gulf of class between the two sides, some bookmakers have refused to offer odds on an Eagles win.
But Worsfold scoffed at claims it would be a guaranteed win for his club.
"I'm not going to be comfortable at any time this week that we've won the game until that siren has gone," he said.
With the season only two rounds old, Worsfold said he was unlikely to rest a mass group of players.
But defender Darren Glass could be given the week off to ensure his groin problems of the past two years do not resurface.
AAP
Tags: sport, australian-football-league, perth-6000 First posted April 11, 2012 13:08:10