Fremantle has been rocked by a second hamstring scare within four days, with livewire forward Sam Switkowski forced out of training late into a long Tuesday session at Cockburn.
He was still being assessed overnight, but it is believed to be on the minor scale.
It follows Heath Chapman suffering a hamstring strain during Saturday’s intra-club scratch match.
Switkowski’s setback put a downer on an otherwise positive session on Tuesday with defender Brandon Walker signalling he will be in the mix for a round one return way ahead of schedule after overcoming a knee injury.
Switkowski earlier looked in good touch as he moved up and down the ground during training drills.
A concerned Switkowski tapped out from match simulation before heading for the boundary line where he stretched out in discomfort.
His presence is critical to Freo’s hopes for an improved mid-forward connection this season.
The Dockers need all of their small forwards up and about following the departure of Lachie Schultz to Collingwood in the off-season.
Walker dislocated his kneecap in round 18 against Collingwood last season and did not play again in 2023.
The 22-year-old, rated for his dash off the half-back line as well as his ability to lock down on the opposition’s best forward, has been a slow build over the summer.
Still wearing support on his knee, Walker showed no signs of discomfort in backline drills or match simulation on Tuesday.
Fellow defender Ethan Hughes described Walker’s earlier than expected return as “exciting”.
“He is well ahead of where he planned to be. He went through quite a traumatic injury to his knee,” Hughes said.
“He brings plenty of speed which I love to have in my side. He is getting around the boys, has done a lot of work in rehab. And he is just getting his body ready to go and get into a few games the next couple of weeks.”
Walker has played 45 games across three seasons. After a breakout year in 2022, when he managed 21 games, he featured in 14 last season before the injury.
While Walker is on the comeback trail, Hughes said he felt for fellow backman Chapman.
“It is always devastating when someone goes down with injury, but he has been through this stuff before,” he said.
“We will support him as a club, he is a strong, resilient young man. He’ll get through it, do a rehab and then he’ll be back.”
Hughes, 29, is about to enter his 10th AFL season and while he shifted between wing and defence last season, expects to play primarily in the back half in 2024.
“I am still building that connection with the back six and the whole collective backline so I think that’s where I’ll be trying to play my football this year,” he said.
While there is a wing vacancy following the departure of Liam Henry to St Kilda, Hughes says it’s not for him.
“I loved my time there last year. It provided me with a new challenge. With a few injuries that happened last year I went back to the backline where I was able to reset with my teammates down there,” he said.
“We have a lot of young players who play the wing role and a few midfielders who do their rotation out there, so I think there are certainly a lot of players in line for that spot.”
As the Dockers build towards another intra-club hitout at the end of the week and their first real scratch match against West Coast on February 24, Hughes said yesterday’s two-hour session was critical to their progression.
“It was nice to work on our game plan a bit more in a controlled setting,” Hughes said.
“I think building off the last couple of years. We have been a little bit inconsistent throughout games and week to week.
“So this year we want to build that consistency, perform better over the season and would love to get back and have another chance at finals.”