Dockers star and dual Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe may have played his last game for the season after it was revealed he had suffered a stress fracture in his foot.
Key points:
Nat Fyfe has suffered a stress fracture in his left footIt is the same foot he suffered a plantar fascia issue with earlier this seasonThe club says it is still hopeful he will play again this season
Fyfe played his ninth game of the year on Saturday, but was subbed off with foot soreness as Fremantle went down to the Western Bulldogs at Docklands stadium.
According to Fremantle high-performance manager Phil Merriman, scans have revealed the 31-year-old, who signed a new two-year contract with the club last month, has sustained a stress fracture.
Fyfe missed rounds two to seven of this season with a plantar fasciitis injury on the same foot.
Club hopeful of return this season
Merriman said the club was still hopeful Fyfe would play again this year.
“We subbed Nat out of the game on the weekend, we have since had some scans done on that foot,” Merriman said.
“Unfortunately, Nat has sustained a stress fracture. It’s the same foot he has been dealing with all year.
“We have now put him in a boot, so he is going into a period of de-load.
“We are going to see how his foot is after this period of de-load and we are hopeful that we will see him again this season.”
Speaking after the loss to the Bulldogs, Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir said Fyfe’s foot was “sorer than usual”.
“It’s funny, plantar fasciitis, they never really go away, until you get an extended period of time off, so he’s had some awareness there,” Longmuir said.
“He felt like he couldn’t go anymore.”
The loss comes at a bad time for the Dockers, who are one game and percentage outside of the AFL’s top eight.
They face a crucial clash against Carlton at Perth Stadium this weekend.
