There's finally some better news on the injury front for the Western Bulldogs, with three defenders a chance to return on Friday night against Adelaide.
Captain Easton Wood, Marcus Adams and veteran Dale Morris will all need to get through training this week before getting selected, but the signs are promising for the Dogs.
First-year key back Aaron Naughton, however, will miss two to three weeks, after scans revealed he had damaged ligaments on the outside of his right ankle in the first quarter of the Dogs' 14-point win over Brisbane.
Wood has recovered from the hamstring injury which saw him sidelined for two matches.
"Easton has progressed really well following his minor hamstring strain. He ticked full speed on the weekend, which is really important for us," Western Bulldogs medical services manager Chris Bell told westernbulldogs.com.au.
"He'll come back into full training this week with the team and if he gets through, he'll come back into availability this weekend."
Morris partially tore his ACL in his knee in February and didn't require surgery,
Having fully trained for two weeks now, he will also need to get through this week in order to be considered for selection, although it is not yet clear whether that will be in the AFL or VFL.
Adams has not played this year after having surgery on his ankle just before the season started.
"He's ticked our final stage measures in rehab. He's back in full training this week and if he gets through training like we expect, he will play this weekend," Bell said.
The Bulldogs still have eight on their injury list, including premiership players Tory Dickson (hamstring), Clay Smith (knee), Liam Picken (out indefinitely with
