Brandon Starcevich’s wretched pre-season has continued with the star recruit further away from a West Coast debut after another setback.

Having joined the Eagles after two premierships with the Lions, Starcevich has been plagued by injuries in 2026, narrowly avoiding disaster with a minor ACL strain that saw him ruled out for the State of Origin clash.

The 26-year-old then picked up a calf injury, which kept him out of the rest of the pre-season and already had him slated to miss their round one clash.

After coach Andrew McQualter said the injury was “hopefully not a long-term one,” a further setback will now see him miss at least the first month of footy with the Eagles, listing him as 3-4 weeks.

“Unfortunately, Brandon had a very minor separate issue in the same calf last week, which will hold him back another week or two,” high-performance manager Phil Merriman said.

It’s a big blow for an Eagles backline who are set to be under siege this season and will face premiership fancies Gold Coast, and Ben King in round one without key defender Harry Edwards as he continues to work through concussion protocols.

“Harry has been a little slower progressing, and he won’t be available this week. The expectation is that he’ll be available for round two,” Merriman said.

It will likely mean Tylar Young, Sandy Brock or Rhett Bazzo will have to take on King, who booted six goals against the Eagles last year, while the Suns could also bring Jed Walter or Jamarra Ugle-Hagan.

In better news for their defence, Liam Duggan (concussion) and Reuben Ginbey (toe) have both been cleared to play, as has veteran Tim Kelly (hamstring).

However, Jack Graham is still listed as a test as he seeks to overcome his own hamstring issue.

“Jack needs to finish off his rehab this week. There are one or two more hurdles to clear before he’s available to play,” Merriman said.

Draftee Fred Rodriguez has a timeline for his return from his foot injury and is expected to start running from this week, while Tom Gross will also rejoin drills as he works back from the hamstring injury he picked up in the intraclub clash.

“Tom has been really professional in his rehab, and we’ll see him taking part in some football drills this week,” Merriman said.

Fred will be running on field for the first time this week, which is exciting for both him and the team.”