Western Bulldogs star midfielder Bailey Smith is a chance to return to the line-up for this Saturday’s clash with Hawthorn, as he recovers from a calf injury.

Smith has missed the last two matches with the minor calf complaint, and is pushing hard to re-join his team-mates for Marcus Bontempelli’s 200th game against the Hawks at Marvel Stadium.

He will need to get through Wednesday’s main training session to be considered for selection.

“Bailey didn’t play on the weekend to allow us to carefully rebuild his loads and get some continuity in his training,” said Bulldogs’ Head of Sports Medicine, Chris Bell.

“In some good news, he successfully completed a game like rehab session on Friday.

“He will return to a full training model, and if he gets through like I expect, he will return to availability.”

Smith’s possible return would help offset the loss of Tom Liberatore, who will miss the Round 7 game with concussion.

“In the last quarter of the game against Fremantle, ‘Libba’ received a head knock in a contest,” Bell said.

“He had very discrete signs that he wasn’t 100%, so he was ruled out of the game.  Testing post-game confirmed that he suffered a low-level concussion.

“He won’t play this weekend, and will work with our doctors to determine his return to play plan.”

Speedy forward Laitham Vandermeer made his return through the VFL on the weekend after recovering from a fractured leg, but unfortunately his day ended prematurely.

“During the third quarter, Laitham received a hit to his chest wall in a tackle and had some severe pain,” Bell said.

“Scans have confirmed that he has some rib damage.  This injury won’t require surgery, but Laitham will be sidelined again for a couple of weeks.”

Injury list

Bailey Smith (Calf) Test
Tom Liberatore (Concussion) – 1-2 weeks
Harvey Gallagher (Hamstring) 2-3 weeks
Roarke Smith (Foot) – 5-7 weeks
Riley Garcia (Groin) – 6-8 Weeks
Dom Bedendo (Groin) – 6-8 weeks
Josh Bruce (Ribs) – 4-8 weeks
Laitham Vandermeer (Ribs) – TBC