Fremantle Executive General Manager of Football Joe Brierty has confirmed Alex Pearce has suffered a new fracture in a different location on his radius bone that was previously injured in round 15.

“It’s not where the previous fracture was, so we will consult surgeons later this afternoon and more than likely have surgery later this week,” Brierty confirmed when speaking on SEN WA Mornings with Mark Duffield.

“Alex was obviously cleared to return, but with the result it's disappointing that he’s fractured the radius a bit lower at the end of the plate.

“It’s one of those things when you put a plate in around a fracture at times there can be a risk element I guess in terms of the bottom of the plate.

“The risk doesn’t really change whether it's four weeks post the surgery or even kind of six-to-eight weeks post.”

Brierty went on to confirm that no set timeline had been established for Pearce’s return yet, as the Club would wait on the results of the surgery and specialist consultation before making any decisions.

“In terms of an exact timeline for his return we're not too sure at this point in time, we will see how he recovers from surgery,” Brierty said.

“Knowing Alex, he will be doing everything he possibly can to get himself back at quick as possible.

“We will look to provide some further information around that (his return date) early next week when we have a better read.

This isn’t the first time the captain has encountered and injury setback in his career, the 29-year-old missed the entire 2017 and 2020 seasons due to injury setbacks, with Brierty praising Pearce for his attitude and resilience to always bounce back.

“He will continue to lead off field and drive the group,” Brierty said.

“It talks to the calibre of the person in terms of his resilience and what he’s been through off field from an injury point of view.

“His ability to still invest and lead a group the way that he does, we couldn’t be prouder of Alex being the captain of our football Club.”