Senior coach Justin Longmuir said there were major concerns with Nat Fyfe’s shoulder, after the star midfielder was a late out against Collingwood at Marvel Stadium on Saturday.
Fyfe was replaced by Brett Bewley in the starting 22 and Mitch Crowden was named as the medical sub.
The captain travelled to Melbourne and trained with the team on Friday and Longmuir said the decision came down to the belief that Fyfe wouldn’t be able to perform at his absolute best.
“It was a late call. He’s travelled with us, he got through training really well,” Longmuir told Fox Footy.
“He just didn’t really feel 100 per cent confident and it’s probably got nothing to do with the pain or the shoulder itself.
“It’s just about him being able to perform at his best and he just didn’t feel up to it.
“He’ll benefit from another week off and we’ll look to get him back against Carlton next week.”
Longmuir said Fyfe was cleared to play by medical staff.
“It was a lineball (decision). The docs were happy for him to play. He got through main training but he just didn’t feel like he was 100 per cent comfortable,” Longmuir said.
“With a shoulder injury, you’ve got to be able to take the ball above your head with pressure on you, you have to be able to put your head over ground balls.
“We all know how Fyfey plays, he plays a really combative brand of footy. For him not to be 100 per cent comfortable and make the call was something that I respected.
“Like I said, we’ll give him another full week at training, get that confidence in the shoulder up and he’ll be right to go next week.”
