Bontempelli in doubt, Johannisen out as Dees suffer blow

Western Bulldogs captain Marcus Bontempelli is in doubt for the club’s clash with Carlton and Jason Johannisen has already been ruled out, while Melbourne defender Christian Salem is having surgery on his injured knee.

Scans have cleared Bontempelli of major damage to his ankle but his prospects of facing the Blues on Thursday night hinge on how what the Dogs says is a “low-level sprain” responds to treatment in coming days.

The star midfielder suffered the injury in the third quarter of the Dogs’ loss to Melbourne on Wednesday night and, though he returned to the field, he was in noticeable discomfort, at times running with a limp.

“Like any ankle sprain, he has some pain and swelling that we are managing in the early part of this week,” Bulldogs’ head of sports medicine Chris Bell said.

“We will work through a process with Marcus into next week to determine his availability to play against the Blues on Thursday night.”

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Johannisen is expected to miss two to three weeks after injuring his calf during the warm-up. His mishap enabled gun midfielder Lachie Hunter to start in the 22 after he had been relegated to the medical sub.

“During the warm-up for the game against the Demons, Jason had an acute episode of calf tightness,” Bell said.

“Scans have confirmed our clinical suspicion that ‘JJ’ has suffered a calf muscle strain.