West Coast coach Adam Simpson says Eagles knew Nic Naitanui was going to be sidelined for longer term

West Coast coach Adam Simpson has admitted they knew Nic Naitanui was going to be sidelined for weeks with an Achilles injury despite repeatedly saying the opposite for more than a month. After a strong pre-season, Naitanui has been sidelined since February with what was first described as Achilles tendon soreness, with Simpson previously saying he was a week-to-week prospect before the club finally conceded he wouldn’t be available to mid-season at the earliest. At the Eagles’ season launch just before round one, Simpson said “if this was round 15 he’d be playing”, before Naitanui, 32, told 7NEWS he was aiming for a round two return, but hinted it could be longer. Ahead of their clash against an in-form Melbourne at Optus Stadium on Sunday, Simpson has conceded they knew it was going to be a “four to five-week” injury from the start. And just last week Simpson was confident Naitanui would play this season when asked, but on Friday he was now “optimistic”. “When we first announced it we knew it was going to be a longer-term (injury), so we shouldn’t have done next week, next week because it’s a pain in the ass for me to answer the questions,” Simpson said. “We always knew it was going to be a four or five-week proposition and now that’s been pushed out to talking around the bye (for a return). “That’s the reality until we get any further developments or improvements or no improvement. That’s our goal still, so I’m still hopeful.” Simpson said Naitanui was “feeling less and less pain” as they continue to manage him. “The main issue is strengthening the muscles around the Achilles and an inability to do that,” Simpson said. “Until we get that right, it’s hard to get the Achilles right, because it’s carrying too much load with the calf and everything around it, not being as strong as it can be. “Lately, he’s feeling less and less pain so we can strengthen the rest of his leg.” The 2018 premiership coach praised Naitanui for his resilience as well as his work off the field to help the team improve. “He’s really helped us with the ruck coaching stuff and that side of thing,” Simpson said. “Obviously we’d like him to be playing, but he’s got a sense of resilience about him that he’s dealt with probably since 2015 really.”