FREMANTLE star Hayden Young is optimistic he can complete a full campaign in 2026 after an off-season visit to renowned rehabilitation clinic Aspetar in Doha that has helped set him up for a strong summer. 

Young was restricted last pre-season as he recovered from a broken leg, going on to play just nine games in 2025 as repeated hamstring injuries and a groin setback interrupted his year. 

The 24-year-old has returned to pre-season training mentally fresh, however, but also with some new tools picked up at Aspetar to enhance his physical preparation and regain confidence in his body. 

"The overwhelming feeling is I left there with a lot of optimism and hope," Young said of his week-long visit to Doha.

"When you have a pretty interrupted year, you can sort of get down on yourself and think that you're prone to injuries, but that's not the case, and I left there with a lot of solutions and things I can work on. 

"The reality is there's no sort of secret formula to sort of keep yourself fit and healthy. It's work and that's what I learned there. 

"I've come away with some things that I can work on and hopefully give myself the best chance to play a lot of footy next year. I'm feeling really optimistic about 2026."

Young was a star in the games that he played last year, highlighting his importance with a match-winning performance against Collingwood as the substitute in round 19 and winning the Glendinning-Allan Medal as best afield in the round 20 Western Derby, despite being substituted.

While those performances gave Young confidence in the football he was capable of, the midfielder said it was a struggle to build belief in his body after completing just 27 per cent of the pre-season. 

"I think just doing the work and completing pre-season will help with that vulnerability," Young said. 

"Having an off-season where I've been fit and healthy and been able to train has put me in a good spot where I don't feel as vulnerable, and hopefully I can just keep stacking sessions this summer. 

"Already I feel really confident, and I think that's the main thing. Last year, coming back and playing there were times where I didn't really feel confident in my body. 

"It's not a great feeling when you're going out there playing in big games and not sure about how your body's is going to hold up. I'm really confident now, which is great."

Young and a large group of senior teammates returned to training last week with the Dockers' first to fourth-year players, but the entire squad was formally back together on Monday as temperatures hit 38 degrees in Perth. 

Under new fitness boss Adam Beard, the group completed a 30-15 running test, which saw midfielder Corey Wagner, forward Michael Frederick and draftee Toby Whan stake their claim as standouts. 

"It was a different time trial that we've done in the past. It felt like everyone was thereabouts," Young said. 

"It was a 30-15 test. So, it's like a shuttle run with a lot of stop-start, change of direction, and you get pretty heavy legs, and you've got to be able to work through that. 

"It was a good hit out, and hopefully we can have a good pre-Christmas period and come back and try to beat our times."