‘He wants to play’: The two injuries the Bont is carrying into Friday night

Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli has another injury concern but has been declared fit to play against Port Adelaide on Friday night.

Dogs coach Luke Beveridge has revealed Bontempelli is also battling a heel problem on top of the knee issue that he has been carrying since the heavy defeat to Geelong three weeks ago.

Veteran Tom Liberatore will need a month to recover after undergoing knee surgery, but his future is still clouded while he remains under concussion protocols.

Bontempelli began training alongside ruckman Tim English in the Bulldogs’ rehab group and took only a limited part in the club’s main session on Wednesday, as forecast by Beveridge.

“It’s pretty obvious to you he’s had a sore knee, but he’s had a bruised heel that he’s been dealing with,” Beveridge said.

“That’s the main thing I’ve been worried about. It’s the main reason he was limping a bit in the game just gone, but he’s been able to deal with that, manage it a little bit with our medicos, and he’s pretty confident he should be available.”

Bontempelli is one of the most durable players in the competition, missing only 12 games since his debut in 2014. Coming off four straight losses, the Dogs do not have the luxury of giving their superstar player a week off to rest.

“It’s a pretty high bar as far as the pain threshold for him with discomfort, and he wants to play,” Beveridge said.

“We’re not going to talk him out of doing that. He’d be the first to tell us. He’s missed a game here and there, as you know, and he missed the start of last year because he had to, but if he’s really compromised in anything, then he definitely won’t play, and we’re not at that point at the moment.”

English returned last round after missing three games with a knee injury. He spent the first part of training running on the boundary line but joined in later drills.

Veteran midfielder Adam Treloar, who missed the loss to Fremantle while being managed, will not return this week or play in the VFL due to Footscray having a bye.

“His high-intensity running side of his game, which has always been a great strength of his, is just compromised at the moment,” Beveridge said. “So he’s working out whether he can get to that point where it’s really going to challenge opposition midfields at AFL level.”

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