West Coast coach John Worsfold can see the positive side of his team’s horror injury run, claiming he will possess the AFL’s freshest forward line come finals time.

Key marking target Josh Kennedy (ankle) has joined goalsneaks Mark LeCras (knee) and Mark Nicoski (hamstring) on the long-term injury list, robbing the Eagles of their three most prolific goalscorers of 2011.

The trio combined for 147 goals last season, and their absence has put major pressure on Jack Darling, Quinten Lynch, Josh Hill and Ashton Hams to lift their goalscoring outputs.

Darling will lead West Coast’s attack during Kennedy’s three-month absence but Worsfold denied the 19-year-old would cop extra attention from defenders.

Nicoski faces another eight to 10 weeks on the sidelines, while winger Andrew Embley, who chipped in with 17 goals last season but is sidelined with a shoulder injury, will also return at the tail-end of the season.

Although LeCras has already been ruled out for the year, Worsfold said the return of Kennedy, Nicoski and Embley leading into the finals would give his team a vital boost.

“Freshest finals forward line going around (with) Nicoski, Embley, Kennedy just hitting their peak,” Worsfold said on Wednesday.

“Give them five weeks of a running program and they’ll get their fitness right up.”

Ladder-leading West Coast will be forced to make at least three changes for Sunday’s home match against North Melbourne, with replacements needed for Kennedy, Mitch Brown (eye) and Will Schofield (suspended).

Key defender Eric Mackenzie, who missed last week’s win over Richmond due to an ear infection, will be an automatic swap for Brown.

But the Eagles are yet to decide on the best way to replace Kennedy and Schofield, with debutants Jacob Brennan and Fraser McInnes in the mix.

Worsfold said 18-year-old forward McInnes, who impressed during the pre-season, and 203cm ruck/forward Scott Lycett were the leading candidates for promotion should the Eagles opt for a like-for-like replacement for Kennedy.

“Fraser’s been very impressive with his start at the footy club,” Worsfold said.

“He’s a big strong boy who’s still only very young but is going to grow into a very strong key forward.

“He reads the game really well – a really natural footballer and has already performed really well for Perth as a key forward.”

Brown, whose best position is in defence, is another alternative to fill the void left by Kennedy once he recovers from an eye injury.

Brennan, the son of former Eagles premiership vice-captain Michael Brennan, has been in solid form in the WAFL, and will battle the likes of Patrick McGinnity, Brad Sheppard and Koby Stevens for a berth in the backline.