Kerr's return suffers a slight delay - Sports News - Fanatics - the world's biggest events

Kerr's return suffers a slight delay

Justin Chadwick 13/03/2011 05:12:49 PM Comments (0)

West Coast midfielder Daniel Kerr is almost certain to miss the early rounds of the AFL season after experiencing tightness around his troublesome hamstring.

Kerr, who hasn't played a match since tearing his hamstring in round four last year, was pencilled in to play over the weekend but was held back after pulling up sore from training.

Although Kerr's hamstring is holding up reasonably well, the 27-year-old is struggling to get the rest of his body up to pace.

Eagles coach John Worsfold said the club's medical staff would err on the side of caution with Kerr, who has been plagued by injuries in recent seasons.

"He's getting tight, he gets a little bit sore in other muscles," Worsfold said.

"So we're not going to play him until we think he's 100 per cent ready to go.

"We're not in a rush to force him into getting ready for round one. I want people to see Daniel Kerr play at his best again and if that's round 10, then we'll wait until then.

"But I'm confident it will be a lot before then.

"He's fitter than he was at this time last year."

The Eagles could also be without Adam Selwood for their season opener against North Melbourne after the midfielder injured his ankle in Saturday's nine-point practice match loss to Fremantle.

However, Worsfold said defender Mitch Brown (shoulder) and Nic Naitanui (shoulder) were on track for round one.

Luke Shuey put in another superb display for the Eagles and Worsfold predicted big things from the 20-year-old after two injury-plagued seasons.

Shuey underlined his class in a superb midfield display against the Dockers, with his second-quarter goal - when he bounced the ball four times before kicking truly from 40m - the highlight of the match.

"All things are tracking really well for him. If you've watched him play in the last few weeks, you know he's going to be a good AFL footballer," Worsfold said.

"He's got a massive amount of upside still because of the setbacks he's had.

"Other kids his age are a little bit ahead in terms of their work, but he's going to close that gap quickly.

"He looks exciting when he does take that ball clean, and has got pace to accelerate."

Fremantle defender Tendai Mzungu will miss the start of the season after injuring his knee against the Eagles, but midfielders David Mundy and Stephen Hill got through the game unscathed in their first hit-outs of the year.

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