Western Bulldogs midfielder Mitch Wallis will have ankle surgery in the coming days, leaving his chances of being involved in the Dogs' run to the finals in grave doubt.
Wallis, 26, hasn't played at AFL level since round 10 because of a bone-stress issue in his ankle. He returned via the VFL earlier this month and has got through two games at the lower level, but remained hampered by the issue.
The Dogs are set to regain Tom Liberatore from a knee injury for this week's match against St Kilda while Caleb Daniel is also a chance to return from a hamstring injury. Star Marcus Bontempelli will need to get through training on Friday to prove his fitness after hurting his ankle in Sunday's win over Melbourne, a match in which the Dogs have also lost Toby McLean to a hamstring injury.
“Marcus had his ankle caught in a tackle in the second quarter,” Bulldogs’ medical services manager Chris Bell said on the club's website.
“This has caused Marcus to damage one of the ligaments in his ankle … We’ll work through a process with Marcus this week and make a decision on his availability after the main training session on Friday.
“Tom and Caleb have continued to train really well. Tom will fully train this week, and we expect him to be available.
“Caleb completed a game-like rehab session during the weekend. He pulled up really well from the session and does have some boxes to tick for us this week, and we’ll make a decision on his availability towards the back end of the week.”
The Dogs have not put a timeframe on a return for Wallis.
“Mitch continues to suffer some persistent symptoms from the bone-stress fracture in the front of his ankle,” Bell said.
“We’ve tried to do everything we can for Mitch, to manage his injury without having to resort to surgery.
“Mitch will have to have surgery on the ankle, which will happen later this week.”
The tough midfielder missed the 2016 premiership after breaking his leg late in the season although his ankle issue is unrelated.
Having fallen out of favour at Whitten Oval in the first half of last season, Wallis bounced back strongly and signed a new three-year contract with the club, turning his back on free agency to remain in the colours worn by his father across 261 games between 1983 and 1996.
The Dogs have won four of their five games since the bye, leaving them a game and percentage outside the top eight with six rounds to play.