Eagles coach Adam Simpson says premiership defender Tom Cole could face an extended stint on the sidelines after injuring his ankle in the side’s round four clash against the Demons.

Cole suffered the setback in the fourth quarter of the 63-point loss and is set to meet with a specialist next week.

“It’s the same ankle he had damage to last year… it looks to be a few weeks off legs at least,” Simpson said.

Simpson also revealed Dom Sheed’s larynx injury is “lingering” longer than expected but told Adam Papalia on WWOS this has been “great exposure for our kids.”

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“It does leave us a bit vulnerable against some of these better teams,” said the coach.

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