Fremantle coach Justin Longmire says the Dockers will take a long-term approach with Michael Walters’ Achilles injury, with a game against Bell in a pre-season clash looming this weekend.
Walters, 32, has missed the last few weeks of training due to an injury, leaving him a doubt to face former mentor Ross Lyon and St. Kilda at Marvel Arena on Sunday.
Michael Frederick (quadruple) is fit and ready to play, meaning the Dockers don’t have to rush an all-Aussie back too early and risk a re-aggravation of the injury.
Longmuir will not rule Walters out of playing against the Saints, with a decision to be made later this week if he will play in the AFL or for the Thunder against Subiaco in Mandurah on Saturday.
“It’s a balance between what’s best for us in Round 1 and what’s best for us for the rest of the year, from Round 2 onwards,” Longmuir told 7NEWS.
“I’m sure Sonny will play a few minutes this week. We’ll have to wait until training is over, but he’s on the right track.
“And if he doesn’t play this week in the NFL, he won’t be far off.”
Longmire said Jaeger O’Meara (ankle), Brennan Cox (hip and knee) and Luke Ryan (back) will be available to face the Saints after injuries have hampered them in recent weeks.
The Dockers will be without pacer Travis Colyer for at least six weeks after he underwent minor surgery to repair a “minor knee irritation” earlier this week.
“He is recovering well and the surgeon believes he will be in a time frame of about six weeks before he can return to play,” said football coach Peter Bell.
“Everyone recovers at their own rate, so we’ll work through that with Trav and make sure he’s ready when he comes back.”
Longmuir said he liked the Dockers who are premiership contenders as they look to back up their World Cup appearance from last year with an even better effort in 2023.
“It’s great to have expectations because it means you’re relevant, people see you as a good team,” said Longmuir.
“I love him. It’s just that we can’t get caught up in this conversation because it’s worthless.
“I told the guys when they first got back into pre-season that we started at the bottom.”
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