Adam Treloar will return for the Western Bulldogs, but coach Luke Beveridge has warned the star midfielder may now struggle to play every week.
A year after earning his first All Australian jacket, Treloar has endured a frustrating season blighted by calf injuries.
The 32-year-old fired with 27 possessions and a goal in the Bulldogs’ Round 8 smashing of Port Adelaide — his first match since last year’s elimination final defeat to Hawthorn.
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Treloar has been sidelined since that match in Ballarat, recovering from yet another calf setback.
But Beveridge has declared him a certain starter for Thursday night’s clash with the Hawks at Marvel Stadium.
“Adam’s a really different proposition for us now, and even for him to get his head around,” Beveridge said of Treloar, who is out of contract at season’s end.
“We believe he probably won’t always have continuity with, game after game, and he might not play more than three or four games in a row.
“It won’t be by design we’re managing him to make sure that he needs a rest.
“It’ll be essentially what he’s telling us, how he’s recovered from a game, how his training work’s been, so it’s a very different approach to Adam’s career at the moment.
“We’re hoping he’s got a future beyond this year and that will take care of itself. We’ll work through that.
“He’s just such an influential player and an esteemed player over a long period of time, that by and large, week to week, he’s probably going to be in our best 22 or 23 so we’ll pick him when he’s when he’s feeling fit and healthy and strong.”
Star foward Sam Darcy won’t join Treloar in facing Hawthorn, but the 21-year-old is expected to return against St Kilda seven days later.
Darcy hurt himself in the Bulldogs’ previous game against the Saints back in round six.
Initial fears were that Darcy had ruptured his ACL and would miss the entire season.
But the 21-year-old looks like missing just seven games with an impaction fracture in his left knee.
“Once he had some clear direction from our medical staff and had a rehab program in place with our performance crew, he just got to work,” Beveridge said.
“The thing with Sam is, he’s an unbelievable swimmer, and he can ride a bike, so when he can’t run, or when he shouldn’t run, in the early stages, he’s able to tick over the heart rate and get his cardio stuff done.
“He doesn’t need many strokes to swim the length of a 25-metre pool.
“He’s really applied himself, and he sets a tremendous example for a really young player.”