West Coast Eagles forward Jake Waterman ruled out of Brisbane Lions clash

West Coast will face reigning premiers Brisbane without key spearhead Jake Waterman, the Eagles revealing the cause of calf pain that saw him subbed out against Gold Coast.

Eagles coach Andrew McQualter said on Monday that Waterman’s sub was precautionary on Sunday, and he was hopeful the goalkicker would be right to face the Lions.

But the news took a rough turn for the struggling club on Tuesday, the 26-year-old set to miss at least a week with a spinal disk issue.

“Jake has been managing a disc in his back, which has referred pain to his calf,” High Performance Manager Mat Inness said.

“Given the calf pain, we scanned him last week which showed no muscle damage. With the stage we were at in the game, we subbed him out as a precaution.

“After further assessment, he won’t be available this weekend due to calf pain from his pre-existing back complaint, and we will reassess next week.”

Waterman nearly missed the club’s season opener over the calf complaint.

An injury to promising winger Jack Hutchinson compounds the issue; last year’s mid-season draftee was expected to miss around a month with a moderate hamstring strain.

“Jack Hutchinson sustained a moderate-grade hamstring in the middle of the last quarter,” Inness said.

“He won’t be available this week and will likely miss three-to-four weeks.”

On the positive front, Eagles co-captain Liam Duggan is expected to be available to play at the Gabba after tweaking a recurring ankle injury against the Suns.

The club stopped short of confirming fan favourite Liam Ryan would play his first match of the campaign, saying he needed to complete training on Thursday to be made available for the road trip.

“Liam Ryan trained fully last week and was extremely close to playing,” Inness said.

“He was not risked in round one due to some hamstring awareness out of the North pre-season game but should be available this weekend if he gets through training on Thursday.

“Liam Duggan rolled his ankle in the last quarter against Gold Coast. He’s pulled up really well, and he will be available to play this week.”