Eagles to take their time with Kennedy

WEST Coast coach Adam Simpson is adamant Josh Kennedy hasn’t suffered a fresh setback in his comeback bid from a calf injury.

Kennedy hasn’t played since tearing his right calf and damaging his achilles tendon in the Round 10 loss to Greater Western Sydney.

The two-time Coleman medallist will miss tonight’s clash with Melbourne at Domain Stadium, and is no certainty to return next week.

Kennedy initially hoped to be back for last week’s win over Geelong. Simpson said Kennedy trained well, but the Eagles wouldn’t take any risks with the 29-year-old.

“There’s been no setbacks,” Simpson said. “He had a previous achilles injury that he has been managing all year that prevents him from training as much as he’d like.

“So I think that’s probably got a little bit to do with it. He’s normally really good on his recovery, so maybe he’s just getting a bit old.

“Hopefully, [he’s back] next week, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it was longer than that just to get that right. We’ll let it take its course.”

Fellow forward Mark LeCras (hip) is also expected to miss several weeks. LeCras has gone four-straight games without kicking a goal — the longest drought of his career.

Simpson said LeCras had been carrying the niggling hip injury for some time, and wasn’t playing well enough to keep his spot.

“He can’t get to his best. So we need to shut him down for a week or two,” Simpson said.