West Coast recruit Josh Kennedy could be made to wait for his AFL debut for the Eagles, with a calf strain putting him in doubt for the round one clash with Brisbane in Perth

Eagles coaches led by John Worsfold have been increasingly impressed with Kennedy in pre-season, after he became part of the deal which took former captain Chris Judd the opposite direction to Carlton.

But after the 20 year-old produced his best build-up game in the Eagles' last hit out against Essendon two weeks ago, he was restricted at training on Monday, and is now in doubt to face the Lions at Subiaco on Saturday.

"We are hopeful he will be alright, but he is the one who is in most doubt from all the guys. I am not sure about what he is down to do (at training) tonight," Worsfold said.

"If he feels able to prove his fitness he will have a go at it, but if he's not quite right he won't do much."

Better news surrounded midfield star Daniel Kerr, who remains on track to recover on time from his hamstring injury to take his place in the new-look Eagles midfield.

And Worsfold tipped a possible new face, with the club's top draft pick Chris Masten a chance despite being banished from pre-season games because of an Australia Day brawl which led to fines from club and court.

"He has not played for us, but I don't think it is too much of a disadvantage because we believe we know what he can offer us," Worsfold said.

"If we think that is what we need going into this game and he is the player to give it to us, then he will play because he is in good enough form and done enough work."

With focus on new recruits, Worsfold was also asked about his own role in the Judd/Kennedy deal, after quotes appeared in a Melbourne newspaper from Blues chairman Dick Pratt.

Pratt was reported as saying that in talking to Worsfold, a former assistant at Carlton, the Eagles coach told him he still had a soft spot for the club and would "do anything he could to see that he (Judd) did come to Carlton."

Worsfold said rather than wanting Judd to go there, he was more concerned about getting the best deal for the Eagles - with Richmond also a real possibility to secure the services of the Brownlow and Norm Smith medallist.

"I certainly spoke to Richard, and that was more about securing the best deal for the West Coast Eagles," Worsfold said.

"They obviously had pick one, and we were chasing pick one. I did my little bit on behalf of the club to see if we could secure pick one.

"It was not so much about getting Chris Judd to Carlton, but it was about getting the best offer from Carlton for the player they were after."

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