Heath Chapman’s season is over after dislocating his shoulder, while Ethan Hughes will be pushing to return for the final round of the season, according to High Performance Manager Phil Merriman.
In the Perth Radiological Clinic injury update for round 22, Merriman said both defenders sustained the injuries over the weekend.
Merriman said Chapman dislocated his left shoulder playing for Peel against West Coast on Saturday, which is the opposite shoulder to the one he dislocated in the 2020 pre-season against West Coast.
It came as Chapman was building his minutes in the WAFL as he was making his return from two soft tissue injuries sustained throughout the 2023 season.
“Chappy cannot take a trick at the moment, he’s sustained a left shoulder dislocation,” Merriman said.
“We’re currently going through the process of getting scans and seeing specialists. It’s unlikely we’ll see him again this year.”
Merriman said scans have revealed an ankle injury for Hughes, who came off in the third term against Brisbane on Sunday.
“Ethan sustained an ankle injury later in the game. Unfortunately we tried to get him back out there but he just couldn’t go,” Merriman said.
“We’ve gone through the scanning process and he’s got a moderate grade syndesmosis injury.
“We’ll see how he progresses over the next week or two as to whether we see him again this year.”
Merriman said Fremantle were confident Bailey Banfield would make his return playing at either WAFL or AFL level this weekend after being limited by a knee laceration sustained against Collingwood.
“Bailey’s a strong chance this week. He wasn’t quite functionally ready to return but all signs are pointing to this week,” Merriman said.
INJURY LIST
Bailey Banfield (knee laceration) – Test
Josh Draper (groin) – 1 week
Ethan Hughes (ankle) – 2-3 weeks
Heath Chapman (shoulder) - Season
Sean Darcy (ankle) – Season
Brandon Walker (knee) – Season
Nat Fyfe (foot) – Season
Sebit Kuek (knee) - Season
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