Luke Ryan will miss at least one more game of AFL due to a calf injury while Freo are waiting on specialist advice on four other players to ascertain a timeline on their potential return.
 
Ryan did not play in Fremantle’s RAC Derby clash against West Coast and will miss at least this Sunday’s clash against Brisbane at the Gabba.
 
High performance manager Phil Merriman said Heath Chapman (shoulder), Ethan Hughes (shoulder), Bailey Banfield (ankle) and Sam Sturt (knee) are all set for stints on the sidelines.
 
Both Hughes and Chapman injured their shoulders against West Coast while Banfield and Sturt were injured during Peel’s clash against West Coast’s WAFL team on Sunday.
 
“It was a bit of a bruising encounter at the weekend. Unfortunately, we’ve got the two shoulder injuries out of the AFL game,” Merriman said.
 
“Ethan sustained a knock to his shoulder and he’ll be seeing a specialist in the coming days. Likewise with Heath Chapman.
 
“Bailey re-injured that ankle during the game at Peel and he’ll also be off to see a specialist in the next couple of days to give us a better idea of his return to play timeline.
 
“Unfortunately, Sam had a body fall across his knee during the game. He did finish out the game but we’re just looking for a specialist’s input as to his return to play guidelines.”

Merriman said defender Joel Hamling’s timeline has stretched out following the results of a scheduled scan.
 
“We had a pre-planned scan scheduled in for Joel last week. Unfortunately the scan came back not quite where we wanted it to. His return to play will be pushed back slightly,” Merriman said.
 
Both Alex Pearce (knee) and Sam Switkowski (finger) have progressed and are a week away from a return.
 
“They’re very close. We’ll just see how they are this week,” Merriman said.
 
“They’ll be travelling with the team and we’ll make a call on them later in the week.”
 
INJURY UPDATE ROUND 8
Sam Switkowski (finger) – 1 week
Alex Pearce (ankle) – 1 week
Luke Ryan (calf) – 1-2 weeks
Adam Cerra (ankle) – 1-2 weeks
Stephen Hill (hamstring) – 5-6 weeks
Hayden Young (hamstring) – 6-8 weeks
Joel Hamling (ankle) – TBA
Bailey Banfield (ankle) – TBA
Heath Chapman (shoulder) – TBA
Ethan Hughes (shoulder) – TBA
Sam Sturt (knee) - TBA