RND17 injury update: O’Meara, Pearce, Sturt

Fremantle High Performance Manager Phil Merriman says the Club took a conservative approach in not playing midfielder Jaeger O’Meara at the weekend

Fremantle High Performance Manager Phil Merriman says the Club took a conservative approach in not playing midfielder Jaeger O’Meara at the weekend.

“O’Meara’s going well. He just experienced a bit of tightness in his hamstring last week at training, so we took no risks over the weekend,” Merriman said.

“He needs to get through this week of training to be available to play.”

Meanwhile, captain Alex Pearce and forward Sam Sturt are both edging closer to returns to football.

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Pearce last played in the Club’s Round 11 win over Port Adelaide and has since been sidelined with a stress reaction in his shin, while Sturt hasn’t featured at any level due to a persistent knee injury.

“Both (Pearce and Sturt) are in the same boat,” Merriman said.

“They need to get through this week of training and will be a test to play.”

Ruckman Liam Reidy was a late withdrawal from Peel Thunder’s clash with West Perth, with Merriman confirming the 204cm big man had issues with his ribs.

“He’s (Reidy) pretty good. He trained a little bit today,” Merriman said.

“We're going to see how he trains on Thursday and that will determine his availability.”

Merriman also confirmed 26-year-old midfielder Will Brodie will spend another week under the concussion protocols.

“He’s (Brodie) been a little bit slower than we’d like and obviously with a concussion there’s a no-risk (policy),” Merriman said.

“He’s going to be out for at least another week.”

Positively, midfielder Hayden Young is another week closer to his comeback following hamstring surgery early in May.

“Hayden’s getting pretty excited, as are we,” Merriman said.

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“He’s entered the football program and he will be a couple of weeks away, which is great to see.”

As confirmed by the Club on Monday, midfielder Nat Fyfe suffered a moderate-grade calf injury during the halftime warm-up in the Club’s win over St Kilda.

“Nat’s good. He was an absolute pro (on the bench), as people would have seen on the footage,” Merriman said.

“He just wanted to get the win for the Club and the boys.

“He’s got that low-to-moderate-grade calf injury, so he will be out for at least two weeks.”

Unfortunately, Merriman confirmed forward Michael Walters’ knee is still troubling him, with the Club assessing his progress throughout training over the next week.

“He’s (Walters) just experiencing some ongoing knee soreness,” Merriman said.

“It’s really a week-to-week proposition with Sonny, and we just have to track that and see how he goes this week at training to determine his availability.”

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