THE WESTERN Bulldogs' injury curse has struck again with acting skipper Easton Wood feared to have suffered a badly damaged ankle in a 40-point win over Essendon on Sunday.

Wood clutched his left ankle after landing awkwardly from a marking contest in the third quarter and was taken to hospital for scans.

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The All Australian backman was able to hobble off the ground under his own steam, but Wood appears likely to join a long list of Dogs defenders in the casualty ward.

"I don't think it's too flash. I can't give you a diagnosis, he's gone off to hospital for some scans so we'll know a bit more tomorrow," coach Luke Beveridge said.

"Whether Easton is done for the year, I don't know."

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The Dogs are already missing captain Bob Murphy (ACL), Matt Suckling (Achilles), Marcus Adams (foot) and Dale Morris (hamstring) from defence – although the veteran is likely to return against Fremantle next Sunday.

Suckling "might be a chance" for the crucial clash – which could propel the Dogs to a home elimination final - however full-back Adams is "unlikely" to return this season. 

Beveridge put his head in his hands when Wood went down, but said the morale of the playing group doesn't seem to be affected by the Dogs' bad luck with injuries.

"I did have a bit of a 'not again' moment, but hopefully it's not too bad and even if we lose him for a week or two, hopefully we can go a bit deeper (in finals) and he might be able to rejoin us," he said.

"There's no doubt we had an emotional week to get through after we lost Mitch (Wallis) and 'Red' (Jack Redpath) on that one night, but purely because of the circumstances and the nature of Mitch's injury (broken leg) more than anything.

"But the others, they've really been able to move on and it's created a lot of opportunities for many players and I've said time and again you just have to give all our players credit for coming in and playing critical roles."

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Earlier on Sunday, Beveridge watched star Jake Stringer pick up 21 touches, lay nine tackles and kick a goal in the VFL after the All Australian forward was sensationally dropped.

"We just discussed it on the Tuesday (last week) that it was a possibility (he would be omitted) and he processed it like a mature young man," Beveridge said.

"He really applied himself today and had some involvement in contest and ultimately hitting the scoreboard is something that will fall out of his game.

"It's always a positive if he does score, but it's not what he's assessed on, it's not what his teammates appraise him on.

"But there was lots of good things in his game today."

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Stringer could be back to face Fremantle on Sunday, when the Dogs should have a strong idea where they could finish on the ladder.

Finishing top four is still a slim possibility if results go their way, or they might only be a chance to host an elimination final at best by the time they take on the Dockers.