Fremantle captain Nat Fyfe is set to return from a hamstring injury against Collingwood in round nine at Optus Stadium with the midfielder training fully within his group on Tuesday.
In this week’s Envision Medical Imaging injury update, high performance manager Jason Weber was hopeful both Fyfe and defender Brennan Cox (hip) would play against the Magpies.
“Nat’s had a really strong training progression over the past couple of weeks,” Weber said.
“He had an excellent session this morning with the group and he’ll be available for main training on Friday.
“Brennan’s done some testing this week and things are looking really good. He’ll be a test later in the week but it’s looking really positive for him.”
Forward/midfielder Michael Walters will miss the clash due to hamstring tightness.
“He cramped quite late, he came off and we kept him off as a precaution," Weber said.
"At this stage, it’s just a watch and see to see how he recovers.”
Defender/midfielder Stephen Hill is expected to miss one more week due to an adductor strain while Jesse Hogan (calf), Sam Sturt (ankle) and Stefan Giro (ankle) are all listed as one to two weeks away.
“Stephen’s training strongly, he looks very promising for next week,” Weber said.
“Jesse ran this morning with the group and looks like another week probably.
“Stefan’s been really good, he’s turned a corner a couple of weeks ago so we’re looking to try and progress him into football this week and, hopefully, see him back from a long layoff in the next few weeks.
“Sam’s probably gone a little bit slower than we hoped with his ankle. He had damage from a marking contest at the end of training a couple of weeks ago. He’s progressing along and we’re looking forward to seeing him in a few weeks.”
Weber said Darcy Tucker would miss the rest of the season with a hamstring injury.
“Darcy was forced forward and it damaged the hamstring,” Weber said.
“He’ll be going for surgery later this week and we’ll move forward from there."
INJURY LIST
Nat Fyfe (hamstring) – Test
Brennan Cox (hip) – Test
Stephen Hill (adductor) – 1 week
Jesse Hogan (calf) – 1-2 weeks
Sam Sturt (ankle) – 1-2 weeks
Stephan Giro (ankle) – 1-2 weeks
Griffin Logue (toe) – 7-9 weeks
Hayden Young (ankle) – 7-11 weeks
Michael Walters (hamstring tightness) – TBA
Sam Switkowski (back) – TBA
Joel Hamling (ankle) – TBA
Darcy Tucker (hamstring) – Season
Alex Pearce (ankle) – Season