West Coast coach John Worsfold has urged his injured AFL stars to keep on pushing their bodies to the limit despite this week’s setback to forward Mark Nicoski.
Nicoski will miss the rest of the season after re-injuring his damaged hamstring at training on Monday.
Josh Kennedy (ankle), Andrew Embley (shoulder) and Mark LeCras (knee) are still on the comeback trail from serious injuries, and Worsfold said Nicoski’s latest setback shouldn’t deter other players from pushing hard in their rehab programs.
“We’ve all had injuries at times. We’ve seen Beau Waters, Sam Butler, Travis Gaspar – you can go through a lot of players,” he said on Wednesday.
“It’s an unfortunate part of being an elite sportsperson that you push your bodies right to the limit.
“The reason they’re the athletes they are is mentally they are strong.
“Like we did when Lecca (LeCras) got injured at the start of the year and when Kennedy was out, we all feel for them.
“But it doesn’t take our focus away from the job we’re here to do. Part of our job is to not be affected by those things.”
Defenders Adam Selwood and Will Schofield are a chance to return from injury in Saturday’s clash with North Melbourne in Hobart, while Sam Butler and Ash Smith are also in the selection mix.