West Coast ruckman Dean Cox says he's "pretty sure" his back injury won't keep him out of Saturday night's semi-final against Carlton at Patersons Stadium, while Daniel Kerr is almost certain to return for the do-or-die AFL clash.

Cox was subbed out of the qualifying final loss to Collingwood after suffering a series of back spasms.

The 30-year-old underwent precautionary scans on Sunday but dismissed any concerns the injury would rule him out against the Blues.

"The doctors think it should release pretty quickly and I should be right to train hopefully later in the week and then play," Cox said on Monday.

Cox said it was just an innocuous incident that caused his lower back to spasm.

"I just went to pick a ball up and landed on it awkwardly and couldn't put any weight on it," Cox told Perth radio station 6PR.

"About 10 minutes into the second quarter I went down into the rooms and received some treatment from the doctors, just to try and release those spasms.

"They released for a little bit and then (it) just jarred up as I went back out."

Cox rated Kerr a certainty to take on the Blues after the gun midfielder was a late withdrawal against the 'Pies due to his own back injury.

Carlton are hopeful Bryce Gibbs will be fit to play despite spraining his AC join in Sunday's 62-point victory over Essendon.

But Jarrad Waite's season is officially over after the key forward was booked in for surgery on his troublesome hip.

Kerr has a good record of making an immediate impact upon his return from injury.

The 28-year-old tallied 34 possessions and a goal against Richmond in round 20 after missing three weeks with soreness, and West Coast vice-captain Beau Waters was confident Kerr would be able to replicate that performance against the Blues.

"Daniel's extremely mentally strong," Waters said.

"He knows his body really well and he knows what he's had to do over the last three weeks to prepare himself for this week.

"We saw him fresh off a break a few weeks ago and he was phenomenal so hopefully he can perform at that level again this week.

"(Cox and Kerr) are great players.

"Dean's played 225 games, is a four-time All-Australian and I'd imagine he'll be a fifth time this year.

"And Daniel's been injury interrupted over the last few years but came second in the Brownlow.

"Their accolades add up. They're huge parts of our team and the success of the team."

Waters said morale remained high at the Eagles despite the heartbreaking loss to Collingwood.

"We've got the utmost confidence in this group," Waters said.

"We had confidence last year that we were building towards something great.

"We've built up a certain resilience over the last couple of years and we understand what it takes to get ourselves into this position."

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