West Coast forward Ben McKinley has been ruled out for the next two to three weeks after succumbing to a shoulder injury.

McKinley is expected to undergo surgery sometime this week to fix the problem.

The 21-year-old suffered the injury in the Eagles' round eight loss to North Melbourne but played through the pain against Adelaide and Collingwood.

His performances suffered as a consequence, with his five-possession, one-goal outing against the Pies resulting in his omission for last week's clash against Sydney.

West Coast assistant coach Peter Sumich said McKinley could have continued to play on with the injury but the club's medical staff decided surgery was the best option.

"Especially with injuries like that," Sumich said.

"If Ben ... is playing with it (and) suddenly we bring him back (without having surgery) and then he gets a real big knock on it and he has a reconstruction on it, you are out for three to six months.

"We don't want that to happen. So as a young player get it fixed, be 100 per cent and come back in a months' time and play."

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