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Port Adelaide assistant coach Josh Carr says dynamic on-baller Zak Butters has overcome an ankle injury and is a certain starter against West Coast.

Port Adelaide prime mover Zak Butters is a certain starter for his club's AFL premiership-opener after overcoming a preseason ankle injury.

Butters sprained his right ankle in the Power's last trial game against Fremantle on March 1.

But the influential midfielder has been declared fit to face West Coast at Adelaide Oval on Sunday.

"Lock in Butters, definitely," Power assistant coach Josh Carr told reporters on Monday.

"I don't think you can really hold him back. He has done all the work and all the preparation, he's ready to go."

Emerging forward Ollie Lord will miss the Eagles game after suffering a knee injury during training on Saturday.

Lord has been diagnosed with bone bruising on a knee and a fractured tibia.

"It looks like he doesn't need surgery," Carr said.

"It's definitely a relief when you know that you get a chance to come back, in whatever timeframe it is ... my guess is it's probably six to 10 (weeks out).

"It's obviously disappointing for us as a team and individually for Ollie ... but it's not as bad as we first thought, it didn't look great."

The Power, bundled out of last year's final series with consecutive defeats, enter their first game as hot favourites against the lowly Eagles.

But Carr said Port remained wary of the reigning wooden-spooners.

"Like with every team, it's about us as coaches and the players have an understanding of what an opposition team is going to bring, the way their game style works," he said.

"And then bringing our game style to say 'this is what's going to work against them'.

"Here, we have a big focus on how we play with an understanding of what the opposition are trying to achieve."