EARLY signs are that Nic Naitanui's knee surgery was a success and now the star ruckman begins the long road to recovery to try and play some part in the Eagles' 2017 campaign.

Naitanui underwent a knee reconstruction on Wednesday night to repair the ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.

West Coast's consultant orthopaedic surgeons Dr Peter Annear and Dr Greg Hogan performed the surgery, with Naitanui having a traditional hamstring graft.

An Eagles club official told AFL.com.au on Thursday that the early reports were that Naitanui's surgery was successful.

Naitanui will immediately get into to a recovery phase over the next two weeks to control the swelling, get the knee mobile and into full extension and get off crutches as soon as possible.

He will move into gentle exercise bike and swimming work in the first six weeks before strengthening the knee and the supporting muscles thereafter.

The common blueprint for a hamstring graft is to be running after 12 weeks but Naitanui's program will likely be specifically tailored with targets being fluid depending on his recovery.

The Eagles have had recent experience in rehabbing ACL injuries with Mark LeCras, Eric Mackenzie and Mitch Brown all suffering ACL ruptures in the last five seasons.

All have returned after missing only 12 months of football but none have returned to the absolute peak of their powers pre their respective knee reconstructions.

Meanwhile the Eagles have already started to plan for 2017 and life without Naitanui with a scheduled list management meeting moved forward this week to discuss plans for the trade and draft period.

Coach Adam Simpson said on Wednesday the Eagles would be keen on drafting a young ruckman but he did not want to discuss any possible trade targets.

Scott Lycett and Jonathan Giles are the only 200cm-plus ruckmen, other than Naitanui, currently on the Eagles' list.