Western Bulldogs coach Rodney Eade is confident injured midfielder Scott West will return to the side ahead of their AFL finals campaign.

Last week, West suffered another setback in his battle to overcome a nagging bone stress problem in his knee when he complained of pain following a training run.

An arthroscopy set back his comeback by a week but Eade said West would probably return through the VFL next week before rejoining the senior side in one of the two last games of the season.

"Scott won't play in the VFL this week," Eade said.

"He will probably play the week after so it gives him one or two games at Williamstown and then maybe one or two in the seniors before the finals."

"Under an arthroscope, the bone is still a bit soft but he can't do any more damage to it, so he's just got to get through that pain barrier, and we know he's a very tough individual."

Despite being out of action for more than three months, Eade was confident a strong fitness base built up over 16 years would help West quickly pick up the high tempo of football.

He said Shaun Higgins, in his third season, would face a longer time in the VFL, after being out since round two with an ankle injury.

"(West's) aerobic fitness is good at this stage," Eade said.

"It's just a matter of getting some games into him and having that match conditioning."

"(Higgins) as a younger player, he's needing longer than a Scott West would."

Eade admitted injured defender Tom Williams was struggling to cope with his bad run with injury.

A quadriceps strain sustained while playing for Williamstown on Saturday, his first game back from a serious shoulder complaint, means Williams is unlikely to return until the final home and away round.

"You feel for him because his injuries have been anything but minor. He's more than frustrated and he was very upset on the weekend but the scan and prognosis is a lot better than we thought it would be so that should give him some hope," Eade said.

With a top three spot sewn up, Eade downplayed earlier comments about resting players.

"We're not resting anyone. I used the wrong word ... I suppose a better way of putting it is we have a no-risk policy," he said.

"Anyone we think might be at risk on the weekend won't play but we won't be resting any player just for rest's sake."

Midfielder Mitch Hahn said the club had to ignore speculation over possible finals opponents and focus on North Melbourne at Telstra Dome on Sunday.

"We want to go into the finals with momentum," Hahn said.

"You don't want to lose the last four games and then all of sudden you come into finals without any form behind you.

"So our next four weeks are really important to make sure we continue to do what we have done for the past 18 games.

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