Coach Leon Cameron said the 33-year-old would have been rested last week if the club had a full playing list, but the injury crisis engulfing the Giants forced them into rolling the dice.

Johnson has been battling the knee injury for most of the season, but still managed to kick the match-winning goal in his side's come-from-behind win over Collingwood two weeks ago.

He only managed 11 touches against Richmond and will miss Sunday's clash against West Coast in Perth and possibly the week after against Essendon.

"He probably shouldn't have played," Cameron said. "That knee's just getting pretty bad at the moment, so he's probably going to be one or two weeks.

"There's no doubt we probably pushed it too far last week with him. If we had have had a couple of other guys that were ready to play AFL footy we probably would've went down a different path but, in saying that, I also back Steve and he's done it a number of times.

"A lot of these guys that have been in the system for 10 or 15 years can play with these sorts of injuries. I think most clubs do that with probably one or two every week, especially when you start pushing the middle part of the year.

"It [Johnson's knee] just seems to be blowing up a bit throughout the game and at the end of the game. It's restricting him a little bit. Hopefully we can get it right over the next seven or 14 days."

Rory Lobb has a groin injury and will also miss the Eagles game, hence Cameron's reasoning behind naming tall duo Tim Mohr and Dawson Simpson as part of a 25-man squad for the round-10 clash. Isaac Cumming has also been named in the extended team.

Matt Kennedy will come back into the side, while Harry Himmelberg is expected to return. Cameron has hinted at playing the backman up forward to cover the loss of Johnson and Lobb, although won't settle on his final 22 until Friday.

GWS is chasing a maiden win against West Coast, the only AFL club the Giants have never beaten.

The Eagles come into the game after an embarrassing loss to Essendon last weekend, and Cameron expected West Coast to bounce right back.

"Every now and again sides do come out hard after probably the public backlash," Cameron said.

"When we play the Eagles we always have tough duels against them. We haven't got a great record at Domain [Stadium]. We won there last year against the Dockers, but the Eagles have stitched us up a fair bit over the past five years.

"They'll be just ready to play. They're a good team and we're progressing as well."