West Coast defender Beau Waters will undergo another round of surgery on his troublesome elbow and admits he's unsure when he'll be able to resume his AFL career.

Waters dislocated his elbow while playing for WAFL club Claremont last June.

The 22-year-old sat out the remainder of the season and was making good progress until he increased his 2009 pre-season training load.

Waters will head to Sydney next week for a second round of surgery on the elbow and is in danger of missing a large chunk of the upcoming season.

"(I'm) not 100 per cent sure of the return date yet," Waters said on Tuesday.

"I am heading over to Sydney on Friday week for another operation.

"We sourced a second opinion and decided to go in and try to get it done as early as possible.

"I won't be sure of the outcome until I come out of surgery on the 20th.

"There are a couple of variables and I have to wait and see what happens.

"It's slightly restricting with more so than footy than my everyday life."

It is not the first time Waters has spent an extended period on the sidelines.

In 2005, Waters missed the entire season with a groin injury before rebounding strongly to play in the Eagles' 2006 premiership campaign.

Waters, who has played just 61 games in five years at the club,joins boom recruit Nick Naitanui (knee) and Patrick McGinnity (jaw) on the sidelines.

Eric Mackenzie has been cleared of any major damage to the shoulder he injured against Collingwood last week and is a chance to line up in the Eagles' practice match in Alice Springs on February 27.

Waters helped launch The Cancer Council Western Australia's Me No Hair fundraising campaign on Tuesday and said participating in charity work put his troubles into perspective.

"I think it's important a small injury doesn't overshadow the cause we are here for," Waters said.

"The tragedies that have transpired over on the east coast also put a minor elbow injury and the game of football into perspective.

"If I continue doing that (involving myself with charities) then mentally I'll be fresh 24/7."

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