New Eagle Redden suffers injury setback

Former Brisbane midfielder Jack Redden remains on track to make his West Coast debut during the pre-season despite suffering a setback in his recovery from an adductor injury.

Redden could only watch on from the stands as his new Eagles teammates trained on Wednesday.

The 25-year-old was traded to West Coast at the end of last season after 129 games with the Lions,

He underwent adductor surgery in August, but was forced to undergo a clean-up procedure last month after experiencing more problems.

Despite the setback, Eagles coach Adam Simpson remains confident Redden is on track to play some pre-season games.

West Coast’s pre-season campaign kicks off against Adelaide at Unley Oval on February 21.

“He missed the last part of the year at Brisbane with the same injury, so it’s more about recovering from that,” Simpson said on Wednesday.

“I think we’re over the hump, so hopefully he will be available for NAB Challenge.

“It’s hard to predict, but at the moment without any hiccups I think he’ll play some games.”

Emerging midfielder Dom Sheed is still working his way back to full fitness following minor knee surgery.

But the rest of the team’s best 22 is in good shape as the Eagles attempt to make up for last season’s grand final flop.

“This time last year I think we had 29 on the track and I think we’ve got 40 today,” Simpson said.

“Mind you, we got up to around 40 by the end of January last year and then we lost a lot of players, so things can change pretty quick.

“But at the moment, we’re healthy.”

Defenders Mitch Brown and Eric Mackenzie are progressing well after spending most of last year on the sidelines with torn anterior cruciate ligaments.

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