“It was a very serious issue”: Waterman returns to the Eagles following “uncertain and worrying time”

West Coast forward Jake Waterman has returned to the club following a rough period where he was diagnosed with the inflammatory bowel disease ulcerative colitis.

His father Chris Waterman revealed on SEN WA that the family at the time was not happy with the Eagles’ treatment of his son, saying they essentially forced him to play due to their lack of numbers.

The club has since hit back at those claims.

The 25-year-old’s manager Paul Peos revealed the news of his client’s return to West Coast, adding they’ve navigated a scary period of time.

“He’s made some pretty good progress in recent times after a really uncertain and worrying time in terms of getting a diagnosis,” Peos told SEN’s Sportsday WA.

“He returned into the club, as I understand, this week or in the last 24 hours or so.

“I spoke to him just before I departed and he was getting out of the house which is a good step and he was getting active and saying he broke into a jog which is a good thing.

“We feel like he’s going to progress a little bit here and move back into a gradual conditioning back up phase.

“One of the real issues he’s had is that loss of conditioning.

“He was very sick. Enormously sick. And I think the anxiety that sits around that … when you don’t exactly know what’s happening and you’re going through that process physically, it was clear that it was a very serious issue.

“In that period between ‘something has gone really wrong here’ and ‘what is it?’, mum is on a bedside vigil and no one has a handle on what’s happening and the young man himself is upset and worried about what it all means for him. It was a really tough time that first week.”

Former Eagle Peos added that they’re yet to fully put a line through Waterman returning to playing footy this season.

“We’re moving towards a two-week period post diagnosis where you’re working through the treatment options and the early indicators have found some avenues,” he said.

“We’ve had some good discussions with Jake and we didn’t want to rule it out (playing this year), but the conditioning matter is a key element.

“We haven’t ruled it out on the back of some of the medical advise coming through.”

Waterman has played 84 games with the Eagles, including 11 in 2023, since being selected with pick 77 in the 2016 National Draft.