Michael Walters is as little as one week away from a return as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury suffered in round 19, according to general manager of football operations and performance Joe Brierty.
In the latest Envision Medical Imaging injury update, Brierty gave an update on the likes of Walters, Connor Blakely and Brennan Cox.
“Sonny’s been fantastic and really professional in the way he’s gone about it,” Brierty said.
“At this point in time, we think he’ll be available in one to two weeks’ time.
“He’ll continue to be really professional in his reconditioning program and hopefully available in that time frame.”
Blakely will miss the final round of the home and away season after suffering a hamstring injury during the RAC Derby.
Brierty said it was a shame for the versatile midfielder to miss the match after working hard to break into Fremantle’s starting 22.
“It’s really unfortunate for Connor, he’s obviously really applying his trade this year and he’s got his opportunity playing in the 22 after playing as the medical sub a few times,” Brierty said.
“Unfortunately, he suffered a hamstring injury in the second quarter, so he’ll miss this weekend and potentially a few weeks.”
Despite being slightly ahead of schedule, Brierty said key defender Brennan Cox would not be available for selection this weekend.
"Over the last couple of weeks and it looked like he was potentially a chance of being available this weekend,” Brierty said.
“We’ll just continue to monitor his reconditioning program, he won’t be available this weekend.”
Brierty was pleased with small forward Sam Switkowski’s strong return in the RAC Derby after recovering from a hamstring injury.
“Sam was a real professional in the way he went about his reconditioning program, it’s fantastic to have him back and having a really strong influence on the game,” Brierty said.
“He’s pulled up really well, so he’ll be ready to go again this weekend.”
INJURY LIST: ROUND 23
Michael Walters (hamstring) – 1-2 weeks
Michael Frederick (ankle) – 2-3 weeks
Nathan Wilson (hamstring) – TBA
Brennan Cox (hamstring) – TBA
Connor Blakely (hamstring) – TBA
Nat Fyfe (shoulder) – Season
Heath Chapman (shoulder) – Season
Joel Hamling (ankle) – Season
Rory Lobb (ankle) – Season
Sam Sturt (knee) – Season
