Fremantle High Performance Manager Phil Merriman says midfielder Matthew Johnson has avoided a serious ankle injury, but the Club is yet to establish a timeline for his return to football.
“The update with Johnno is that he’s avoided serious injury, which is great because it didn’t look like it at the time,” Merriman said.
“He’ll go through the process of getting that swelling down and we’ll know a little bit more about timeframes in the coming week.”
Returning to the AFL side for the first time since injuring his hamstring in Round 8, Young came on as the substitute during the third quarter of Sunday’s thrilling win over Collingwood.
“It was great to see him (Young) return and play well, which is the most important thing,” Merriman said.
“It’s a credit to our reconditioning team. They’ve put out Young and he’s performed really well.
“He’s pulled up well today, so the plan is to get stuck into this week and play a full game.”
Captain Alex Pearce (shin) and midfielder Nat Fyfe (calf) remain a week away from returning, with Merriman saying the pair will complete main training later this week with the main group.
“Progressing as planned (for the pair),” Merriman said.
“We’ll see them main train this week, with the plan for them to be available the following week if everything goes to plan.”
Half-back Cooper Simpson is a chance to make his comeback from the AC joint injury suffered in Round 11. Merriman says the 20-year-old has been making steady strides in his rehabilitation program.
“Cooper’s going well. He’s got a few more hurdles to jump over this week and then will be a test to play,” Merriman said.
Unfortunately, Merriman confirmed that young developing ruck/forward Aiden Riddle will not return to football in the 2025 season, with his foot injury lingering longer than anticipated.
“He hasn’t healed as quickly as we would have liked with that foot,” Merriman said.
“He’ll have another couple of weeks of non-weight bearing, which rules out the rest of the season for Aiden.”
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