The Western Bulldogs are sweating on the fitness of Marcus Bontempelli and Jason Johannisen after they both picked up injuries on Wednesday night.
The Bulldogs are priced at 5/2 to reach the 2022 AFL grand final and have already suffered a couple of setbacks following the round-one defeat against Melbourne.
Skipper injury worry
Bontempelli sprained his ankle during the third quarter against the Demons, but as is usually the case with such injuries, he was able to see the game out.
The ankle has since swollen up and the Bulldogs will do all they can to ensure a safe and speedy recovery. However no time-frame has been put on his return.
Related Western Bulldogs news
"Like any ankle sprain, he has some pain and swelling that we are managing in the early part of this week," Dogs' head of sport medicine Chris Bell said.
"We will work through a process with Marcus into next week to determine his availability to play against the Blues on Thursday night."
Johannisen calf setback
Johannisen suffered a calf injury in the warm-up ahead of the Demons' clash and is now looking at up to three weeks on the sidelines.
"Scans have confirmed our clinical suspicion that 'JJ' has suffered a calf muscle strain," Bell added. "We will confirm our return to play plan over the coming days, but expect him to miss the next 2-3 weeks."
However the Bulldogs do have some good news as new recruit Tim O'Brien is making good progress and could make his debut against Carlton on Thursday night.
