Nic Naitanui still has a “glimmer of hope” of avoiding finals heartache for a fourth straight year, but admits the next fortnight is pivotal.

The superstar ruckman is set to miss an “extended period” due to an ankle syndesmosis injury sustained in West Coast’s round 17 loss to Collingwood at Optus Stadium.

The 29-year-old, who hasn’t seen finals action since the 2015 grand final loss to Hawthorn, has had a horror run with injuries, including long-term knee setbacks in 2016 and 2018.

Naitanui said while initial scans on his ankle weren’t good, there have been some promising signs which have put a smile on his face.

“My scans didn’t come back too positive, in most cases probably surgery is the right way to go about things but clinically I could still function and do things, walking around and balancing, things like that,” Naitanui told 7NEWS Perth.

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“We’re trying to tick every box and the surgeon has tried every way to find a way to cut me open, but I passed all the tests and I think we’re going to look at it in fortnightly blocks and just go from there and see how it progresses once I start weight baring with walking and running and doing things like that, and jumping at a later stage.

“If it works, it works. If not we’ll go under the knife and get it all cleaned up.

“I’m pretty smart with my body and the club is too. If there’s any sign of soreness or any risk that’s going to be there, the club will shut me down straight away.

“It gives me a little glimmer of hope to potentially get to that stage, but at this point I’m just looking at it in little small blocks of one or two weeks and ticking every little milestone as I go.”

Camera Icon Nic Naitanui is assessed after his ankle injury against Collingwood in round 17. Credit: 7NEWS

Naitanui defended Optus Stadium’s surface, despite dual North Melbourne premiership player David King calling for the venue to be renamed ‘Syndesmosis Stadium’ following a significant number of injuries potentially linked to its questionably hard surface.

“The surface is fine... the hardened surface does have a little bit of impact with some sort of things but it never really was a massive issue 10 or 20 years ago,” Naitanui said.

“It takes time. Marvel Stadium had those issues over time.

“We’d like it to be a bit softer but at the same time, it is what it is. Footballers get paid enough money to change up their boots and their inner soles and things like that, so I wouldn’t be blaming too much on the surface.”