“In the back of your mind,you’re thinking play him,because with the class and the way they’re playing,the way they push the ball forward at senior level,then it’s gonna be one-on-one battles in space for him.” Johnson said onFox Footy.

“I agree that he should earn his spot,because it’s going to make him better and more resilient in terms of what he needs to do at senior level.

“But part of me thinks,with the way they’re going,he’d dominate.”

Dunkley dislocated his shoulder in theDogs’ win over GWS on Friday night,and while his shoulder surgery is significant there remains hope he could recover in time to play late in the season,or early in the finals series.

“Although we were initially optimistic that Josh may be able to avoid surgery,subsequent scans have confirmed the best way to manage Josh in the short-to-medium term is to have a full shoulder reconstruction,” Bulldogs head of medical services,Chris Bell,said.

“This surgery will be completed tomorrow. At this stage,we expect Josh to miss the next 3-4 months.”

On English,the Dogs said he had avoided jaw damage,so the concussion was the only concern.

“Tim has come in quite well today,and he will work closely with our doctors through the return to play concussion protocols. Tim will miss this week,but we hope to see him back soon after,” Bell said.

The AFL legislated in the off-season that a playermust miss a minimum of 12 days following a concussion.

Richmond have their own injury worries withDustin Martin also set to miss with concussion.

Kane Lambert (calf) is likely to miss while Dylan Grimes has an ankle complaint. Nick Vlastuin and Dion Prestia are also not set to be available for selection either.