Nat Fyfe remains on track to return from injury before Fremantle’s bye in round 14, according to Executive General Manager of Football Peter Bell.

In this week’s Perth Radiological Clinic Injury Update, Bell said Fyfe was four to six weeks away from playing his first AFL game for 2022.

That schedule gives Fremantle’s round 11 clash with Melbourne as the earliest likely return date, followed by the back-to-back home games against Brisbane and Hawthorn.

“Nat’s going really well, he’s had a couple of really good weeks,” Bell said.

“I think Justin was a little bit tongue in cheek saying (on AFL360 telling Collingwood's Craig McRae) he would play in round 10, but we’re not going to rule that entirely out given the progress he’s made recently. If I was to put a timeframe on it, it would be somewhere around the four-to-six-week mark.”

Joel Hamling was a late withdrawal for Sunday’s game between Peel and West Perth due to a knee injury and the defender remains a chance to be available for selection this weekend.

“Joel’s got a knee tweak that’s had a bit of bleeding down into the calf area,” Bell said.

“It hasn’t gone as quickly as we would have liked but he is on the mend and we think if he’s not available this week, it will be the week after.”

Fremantle have four players as tests for selection this week as Hayden Young, Heath Chapman, Connor Blakely and Liam Henry exit the AFL’s Health and Safety Protocols.

Bell said each player will be judged based on how they fare in their returns to training.

“It’s all a little bit different for each of them but we’re hoping to get them out soon,” Bell said.

“They’ve been able to maintain quite a bit of volume while they’ve been in the Health and Safety Protocols, but until we get them out there and get them running around, we won’t really be sure what the impact will be. That will be judged on a case-by-case basis.”

Both Sean Darcy and Neil Erasmus are set for at least one week on the sidelines due to concussion.

“Unfortunately, Sean Darcy sustained a concussion in the match against Carlton on the weekend and Neil Erasmus as well the day after representing Peel,” Bell said.

“The early signs are really good for both of those players but we’ll take them through the concussion protocols.

“We’re very confident that they’ll both miss just the one game but that’s not 100 per cent certain until they go through the protocols.”

INJURY LIST ROUND 7
Joel Hamling (knee) – Test
Heath Chapman (Health and Safety Protocols) – Test
Hayden Young (Health and Safety Protocols) – Test
Connor Blakely (Health and Safety Protocols) – Test
Liam Henry (Health and Safety Protocols) – Test
Matthew Johnson (ankle) – 3-4 weeks
Neil Erasmus (concussion) – TBA
Sean Darcy (concussion) – TBA
Joel Western (hamstring) – TBA
Nat Fyfe (back) – TBA

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