Fremantle Dockers veteran Nat Fyfe to miss more than a month of football with hamstring injury
Nat Fyfe faces a race against time to break into the Fremantle line-up ahead of the finals and pursue his premiership dream, with his latest hamstring injury to sideline him for up to two months.
Fyfe limped off during Peel’s WAFL loss to South Fremantle 11 days ago, with the Dockers yesterday confirming he would miss another five to seven weeks with the “moderate-grade” hamstring strain.
While the 33-year-old has avoided surgery, high performance manager Phil Merriman said it would still be a lengthy stint on the sidelines.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“Fyfey is going well. He’s begun his on-field running progressions, so he’s looking at about five to seven weeks,” high performance manager Merriman said.
It’s a huge blow to continue a frustrating year in what could be Fyfe’s final season in the AFL.
Having missed just one game last year, knee surgery in January saw Fyfe have to build up his fitness through the WAFL, while this latest setback will delay his potential return until after the round 13 bye.
The dual Brownlow medallist would likely require several more weeks in the WAFL to rebuild his conditioning, with coach Justin Longmuir recently declaring the veteran was only part of the Dockers’ best 23 if he was “fully fit”.
The out-of-contract Fyfe has played 240 AFL matches and the injury could also rob him of the chance to reach the 250-game milestone, should 2025 be his final season.
Adding to the frustration is that Fyfe would have been in the frame for an AFL return this week, with midfielder Jaeger O’Meara ruled out for an indefinite period with hamstring and foot issues.
“It was a bit of a difficult one for Jaeger — he’s had a little tweak of his hamstring and in the same incident he’s actually hurt his foot,” Merriman said.
“We are working through the scans and going through that process at the moment.
“We’ll know more in the next few days.”
Will Brodie will miss one week with a calf strain, while veteran forward Michael Walters is struggling to recover from his knee injury and remains listed as TBC.
“Sonny (Walters) hasn’t quite made it on-field yet,” Merriman said.
“We’re hoping to get him there later in the week.”
