Naitanui will miss the next six to eight weeks after the Eagles decided to send him in for surgery to relieve the pain he’s been feeling around his Achilles tendon, after he managed only three quarters of game time in Saturday night’s loss to the Crows.

But Simpson revealed it wasn’t actually the Achilles tendon that was the problem, but rather another tendon near the area.

West Coast’s medical staff initially tried to manage the soreness by limiting Naitanui’s training loads.

But after Naitanui laboured through the Adelaide defeat, it was decided surgery was the best option.

Simpson said although losing Naitanui was a blow, having the surgery done now was the best option.

“It’s actually not as dire as what it sounds,” Simpson told Perth radio station 6PR.

“It’s actually not his Achilles – it’s a little tendon next to his Achilles that’s doing a little bit of damage with the pain barrier.

“His inability to train during the week is probably the reason why we decided to get the procedure done.

“We think it will fix it pretty quick. It’s not a massive procedure, but it is surgery and will take a while to rebuild once he gets it done.”

Scott Lycett will lead the ruck in Naitanui’s absence, with either Fraser McInnes, Jonathan Giles, or Jeremy McGovern to provide ruck back-up.

Simpson admits he will need to put in the long hours this week trying to come up with new stoppage strategies to cope with the loss of Naitanui.

“We’re pretty good at clearances and scores from stoppages,” Simpson said.

“We’d be in the top three or four. A lot of that is based on what we do with the big fella. Now that he’s not there, can we maintain that presence?”

Simpson has promised to make some statements on the selection front following the team’s capitulation to Adelaide.

The Eagles lost the match by 29 points after conceding the final eight goals of the match, and there’ll be some heads on the chopping block this week.

But Mark LeCras won’t be among them, with the out-of-form forward set to be given another chance in Saturday’s clash with Brisbane at the Gabba.

“He’s an experienced player. I’d like to back him in,” Simpson said.

“I’m not going to drop him this week, that’s for sure. It’s something I think he can work through.”

Meanwhile, Sydney have suffered a major blow with their much improved ruckman-forward Kurt Tippett out for up to six weeks.

Scans yesterday confirmed the former Crow, who controversially left for the Swans in 2012, suffered a tear in one of his hamstring tendons that join his knee.

The damage occurred in the first half of Sunday’s loss to the GWS Giants at Spotless Stadium.

The 29-year-old big man has been in tremendous form this season after replacing the retired Mike Pyke as first-choice ruckman.

Tippett had logged over twice as many hitouts as his ruck partner Callum Sinclair, who will likely become the primary ruckman against Melbourne at the SCG next Sunday.

Sam Naismith, Toby Nankervis and Tom Derickx would be among the candidates for promotion to the senior side if the Swans opt for a second specialist ruckman.

There was mixed news on the fitness front for a number of other Swans on Monday.

Speedy utility Gary Rohan was cleared of hamstring damage, but there were injury setbacks for key forward Sam Reid and young defender Harry Marsh.

Rohan had bleeding near his hamstring from multiple corks, but will be tested later in the week and is expected to face the Demons.

However, Marsh, who has just started his senior career with three successive appearances, won’t play next Sunday after suffering a hamstring strain against GWS.

There was yet more bad news for Reid, who hasn’t played a senior game this season.

He suffered a calf strain at the beginning of the fourth quarter in the Swans NEAFL game at Spotless Stadium.

It is understood to be the same calf he had problems with earlier in the campaign.

He will have to recover prior to running again and is expected to be sidelined for three weeks.
-AAP