Sean Darcy is expected to be sidelined for up to four weeks, while Michael Frederick and Brennan Cox will be tested before being available for selection against Brisbane, according to High Performance Manager Phil Merriman.

Ruckman Darcy underwent an arthroscope on his left knee last week after pulling up sore from Fremantle’s two pre-season hit outs against West Coast and Port Adelaide.

Meanwhile, Frederick and Cox will need to get through two main training sessions this week before being declared fit to play in the Club’s season opener this Sunday afternoon.

“The plan is to have Sean back up and out there playing in 3-4 weeks,” Merriman said.

“It’s exciting to have (Frederick and Cox) back potentially, we just have to tick a few boxes today (at training) and later on in the week.”

Young defender Heath Chapman has recently returned from Qatar after spending five days at the Aspetar Sports Medical Clinic to further his rehabilitation on a moderate-grade hamstring strain.

In positive news for the 22-year-old, Chapman is due to return in a month.

“We sent Heath over to Aspetar with our reconditioning specialist James Grierson,” Merriman said.

“He went over to see a practitioner called Dr Enda King who is a world leader in this space.

“Heath has come back and brought some new ideas, but what was really encouraging was that we are on the right track here at the Club and with all the professionals we have got.

“We are certainly on the right track with Heath – we’ve just got a few little things to tick off and we should see him back in action in around four weeks.”

Merriman also gave updates on Nathan O’Driscoll (knee), Corey Wagner (calf) and Ethan Stanley (ankle).

Wagner’s injury is the most recent of the trio, sustaining the calf concern in Peel’s pre-season hitout with South Fremantle at the weekend.

“Following the West Coast game Nathan had a blood clot in his knee,” Merriman said.

“We tried to manage that conservatively and unfortunately it didn’t go as quickly as we would’ve liked so we had it drained.

“He’s in recovery and starting to get moving at the moment.

“Corey will be a little bit longer, he’s got a moderate grade calf injury so he will be around the 6-8 week mark.

“Ethan has a low-grade syndesmosis injury, so we’re hoping to get him back out there in 2-3 weeks.”

INJURY LIST
Michael Frederick (hamstring) – test
Brennan Cox (leg) – test
Ollie Murphy (ankle) – test
Ethan Stanley (ankle) – 2-3 weeks
Sean Darcy (knee) – 3-4 weeks
Heath Chapman (hamstring) – 4 weeks
Corey Wagner (calf) - 6-8 weeks
Nathan O’Driscoll (knee) – TBC
Odin Jones (concussion) – TBC
Josh Corbett (hip) – Season
Sebit Kuek (knee) - Season