JACK Darling may return to competitive football as soon as this week after missing every West Coast game this season while recovering from a stress fracture in his foot.



Eagles coach Adam Simpson confirmed on Monday night that the forward is almost ready to play, however he won't come back straight back into the Eagles line-up to face North Melbourne on Sunday at Blundstone Arena.



Simpson told 6PR that Darling would likely play for East Perth in the WAFL provided he gets through training this week.



"We're hoping he plays some footy in the next week or so," Simpson said.



"We'll have to see how he goes on the track this week.



"While he probably won't be available for AFL this week we think he's progressed really well and now he's ready to compete, probably through East Perth but we've got to weigh that up and see how he travels through this week."



Darling may not play in the East Perth league side if he has game time restrictions placed on him by West Coast.



The Eagles have played Mark Hutchings and Xavier Ellis in the East Perth reserves side first-up after extended lay-offs to better manage the minutes they play and not affect the rotations in the East Perth league team.



Darling has not played since he suffered the stress fracture in his foot in round 23 last season.



He was absent from main training throughout the pre-season and the Eagles have been ultra cautious with his return to full training to allow the bone to heal properly.