Any thoughts of Mark LeCras making a miracle AFL return this season have been shelved, with West Coast coach John Worsfold saying the star forward would risk serious damage to his reconstructed right knee.
LeCras held out a slim hope of returning for West Coast’s finals tilt despite undergoing a full knee reconstruction in February – a procedure that usually takes 10-12 months to fully recover from.
The 25-year-old has looked in superb touch while doing fitness work in recent weeks, but Worsfold said the club’s medical staff, in consultation with LeCras, decided against an early return.
“He’s got a lot of footy ahead. He’s an elite player,” Worsfold said of the 2010 All-Australian.
“The risk of re-injuring his knee would not only put him out for another year, it would potentially do further damage to the knee and make it harder for him to come back.
“The reconstruction he had was at the best possible level – no other damage to any other aspects of his knee.
“He’s actually got a really healthy knee going forward.”
Worsfold said LeCras understood the reasoning behind the decision.
“All he was going on was ‘I feel really good. I could play’,” Worsfold said.
“After six months, usually your knee’s feeling pretty good, but you don’t know what it looks like inside, and that’s where he had to rely on the opinion based on everyone’s experiences.
“He also knows we’ve got an exciting era ahead throughout the rest of his playing career.”
LeCras joins fellow small forward Mark Nicoski (hamstring) as being ruled out for the year, robbing the Eagles of crucial firepower up forward.
But Worsfold is confident key forward Josh Kennedy (ankle) will return in time for the finals.
Kennedy is still listed as being five to six weeks away from resuming at any level, and will most likely require at least one WAFL hitout before returning to the Eagles’ line-up.
The news is a lot better for wingman Andrew Embley, who is on track to resume in WAFL ranks next week or the week after.
Quinten Lynch returns from suspension for Saturday’s clash with second-placed Adelaide at AAMI Stadium, but fellow forwards Jack Darling (tight hamstring), Josh Hill (hamstring) and Ashton Hams (quad) must pass fitness tests this week.
