STAR West Coast full-forward Josh Kennedy underwent minor knee surgery last week which could delay his return to football.

Meanwhile, the Eagles have revealed that ruckman Nathan Vardy (adductor) and midfield recruit Brendon Ah Chee (ankle) have suffered setbacks in their rehabilitation.

Kennedy, who is also recovering from an ankle operation in December, is still aiming to play in round three against Geelong at Optus Stadium.

But his latest procedure to remove a bone fragment from his knee could delay the dual Coleman medallist's comeback until the Eagles host Gold Coast in round four.

"He had a minor procedure to his knee, which is healing really well – the doctors are really pleased with it. It probably set him back a short period, maybe a week," football manager Craig Vozzo told westcoasteagles.com.au.

"Everything is still on track, but that may set back his date for return to play, it depends on how starts training now over the next few days.

"I suspect it's going to be somewhere around AFL (round) three or four."

Vardy went down with a nasty groin issue in a scratch match on March 3 and his timeframe has blown out to six-to-eight weeks.

Ah Chee sustained a high ankle sprain against former club Port Adelaide in the Eagles' JLT Community Series opener on February 25.

"With Nathan Vardy and that adductor, it’s probably a little worse than we anticipated," Vozzo said.

"He’s doing everything right in terms of his rehab and recovery, but we’re thinking it’s longer term than we originally suspected through no fault of anybody.

"Brendon (Ah Chee) is recovering from that ankle problem, again, a little slower than we anticipated.

"It’s probably looking like walk-jog later in this week and I’d estimate that it’s probably [round] four or five before we see him back and a return to play."

In better news for the Eagles, talismanic ruckman Nic Naitanui only needs to get through training on Thursday to be available to face the Swans after 19 months out following his knee reconstruction.

Naitanui trained with strapping on his right thumb at Lathlain Park on Tuesday but didn't appear to be overly protective of his hand.

Goalsneak Willie Rioli (ankle) and speedy draftee Jack Petruccelle are tests for this weekend.

Rioli trained on Tuesday without strapping on the knee he hurt during AFLX, when Petruccelle also dislocated his finger.

But the long road back for Eric Mackenzie continues after issues with his feet.

Mackenzie admitted last month he was aiming for the back half of the year.

"With Eric, the doctors are confident that he’s progressing in a positive way, but it’s been slower than we’d all like," Vozzo said.

"We can’t set a timeframe at the moment. He’s going start on the AlterG (treadmill) later in the week, which is a good, positive sign, but it’s going to be a long way back for him from this point in time in terms of when he is available to play.

"We’re still confident we’re going to get him there."