Fremantle’s Alex Pearce says his ankle is “feeling pretty good” following an injury scare during the RAC Derby clash with West Coast last Sunday.
The key defender was taken off when he rolled his ankle during the third quarter, but soon returned to the field.
Pearce felt relieved he had escaped any serious injury and says he feels confident moving into this Saturday’s Starlight Purple Haze Game, proudly presented by South32.
“I’ll be on light duties today, but still hopeful I can get up for the game on Saturday,” Pearce said.
“Initially, it was pretty sore and there’s been some memories with that area.
“Being able to walk off and put weight on it I started to think ‘okay it’s not too bad,’ and when I got in the rooms and was able to run and get back out there, I knew things weren’t too bad.
“It’s recovered pretty well, day on day and at the moment it’s feeling pretty good, certainly a lot better than I initially thought when it happened out on the ground.”
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Pearce has been standing in as skipper in the absence of injured Nat Fyfe (back) and acknowledged how well the team handled a stressful third quarter, that also saw midfielder Darcy Tucker taken off the field.
“In the third quarter they (West Coast) kicked a couple of goals, and we had the Darcy Tucker thing,” Pearce said.
“We all came together and tried to regroup and then obviously, I went down, which is not where I want to be as captain on the day leading the boys out.
“To wrestle back momentum the way that we did and really finish that quarter off the game really strong I was incredibly proud.
“It was a really good learning experience for us that we can wrestle back some of the momentum.”
Tucker has entered the AFL’s concussion protocols and will be unavailable for selection in round four.
“That was a really scary one but straight after the game Darcy (Tucker) was saying he’s 100 per cent fine and feeling himself,” Pearce said.
“He won’t be playing this weekend, but it was one of the scariest moments I’ve had on a footy field seeing him go down in the way he did, but all the signs are really positive and he’s feeling good himself.”
Midfielder David Mundy also made his return to the Club this week after exiting the AFL’s health and safety protocols.
Pearce said his presence had been missed within the Club and is hopeful to see him play on the weekend.
“We missed him, and it’s felt like a long time since we had the ‘old boy’ around, so it’s great to have him back,” Pearce said.
“Hopefully, he’ll be back with us on the weekend.
“He’s a great influence as a leader with the way he can help set us up for the week and the impact he has on game day.
“It’s great to have him around the group for training today as well and we look forward to getting him back out there.”
