West Coast midfielder Luke Shuey has described Nic Naitanui as the spiritual leader of the club, but he’s confident the team’s flag hopes won’t be derailed by the ruckman’s knee injury.

Naitanui underwent scans on his right knee on Monday morning, with grave fears he’d ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament.

The 28-year-old missed all of last year after rupturing the ACL in his left knee.

The Eagles currently sit in second spot on the ladder with a 12-4 record, giving them a strong platform to launch a premiership charge.

But with their most important player set to be sidelined for the rest of the year, there are doubts as to whether West Coast can keep their hot form going.

Scott Lycett will now fill the mantle as the club’s lead ruckman, with former Cat Nathan Vardy an option as back-up.

Shuey is confident West Coast can rebound from the loss of Naitanui.

“I guess there’s 17 teams without Nic anyway,” Shuey said on Monday.

“If he wasn’t to play – which we’ve dealt with in the past – you find a way around it.

“We dealt with Josh (Kennedy), Jack (Darling) and (Mark) LeCras missing games as well.

“I know we didn’t win too many of those games, but you find a way around these things. No club is based around one player.”

Shuey said Naitanui’s presence couldn’t be measured by mere stats.

“He’s huge for us – spiritual leader for us out there,” Shuey said.

“He can get 21 guys going just off one act, and that’s a pretty special trait to have.

“We’d be shattered for him (if the ACL is confirmed). But in terms of our season, nothing changes.

“Scotty Lycett did a terrific job yesterday in the second half, and had to carry a huge workload against one of the best ruckmen in the competition.

“Scotty’s come along in leaps and bounds this year. If things don’t work out for Nic, then I’m really excited to see what Scotty can do.”

The results of Naitanui’s scans might not be released until Tuesday.

Shuey said all the players felt for Naitanui, who also dealt with the passing of his mother in 2015.

“It’s been a tough trot for him,” Shuey said.

“You don’t want to compare things that happen in your personal life to your footy life, but they certainly compound each other.

“He put on a brave face (after the game).

“He’s a great clubman. We’d had a great win, so he didn’t want to bring the mood down as well.”