Scans have revealed that defenders Alex Pearce and Joel Hamling will be out for at least a month following Freo’s round one clash against Melbourne at the MCG, according to executive general manager of football Peter Bell.
 
Bell confirmed that Pearce had injured the MCL (medial collateral ligament) in his left knee.
 
“Unfortunately, Alex sustained a medial ligament injury,” Bell said.
 
“He’s had a really unlucky run for a long period of time now. Alex will be in a knee brace for four weeks, at which point we’ll reassess after the brace comes off.
 
“(For Hamling) it’s his left ankle…the deltoid ligament on the inside of the ankle.
 
“It’s a little bit more complicated because Joel’s also pulled a small piece of bone away from the ankle as well, so he’ll be in a moon boot for a couple of weeks and then we’ll reassess from there.”

Bell was hopeful forward Michael Frederick would be available for selection in round two against GWS at Optus Stadium.
 
He added that forward Sam Sturt and draftees Nathan O’Driscoll and Brandon Walker would likely be available for WAFL selection if Peel were in action this weekend.
 
“Sam’s going really well. He had a great session late last week,” Bell said.
 
“If there was a WAFL game this weekend he’d be available for some minutes. As would some other players including Nathan O’Driscoll and Brandon Walker as well.
 
“They will just do a solid session on the weekend given there’s no WAFL game.”
 
Star forward Michael Walters will spend at least one more week on the sidelines as he recovers from a hamstring injury.
 
“He’s progressing well, we’ll just reassess how he’s going through main training this week,” Bell said.
 
“At the moment everything is going really well with his hamstring reconditioning.”

INJURY LIST
Sam Sturt (ankle) – Test
Michael Frederick (calf) – Test
Nathan O’Driscoll (shoulder) – Test
Brandon Walker (foot) – Test
Griffin Logue (hamstring) – 1 week
Michael Walters (hamstring) – 1-2 weeks
Bailey Banfield (ankle) – 2-3 weeks
Mitch Crowden (calf) – 3 weeks
Darcy Tucker (hamstring) - 3 weeks
Joel Hamling (ankle) - 4-6 weeks
Alex Pearce (knee) – 6-8 weeks
Brett Bewley (groin) – TBA
Stephen Hill (hamstring) – TBA
Rory Lobb (knee) – TBA

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