FREMANTLE expects to have ruck Sean Darcy available for its match simulation against West Coast on February 21 after the big man suffered a calf strain at training last week.
Darcy completed the first 20 minutes of match practice last Friday before heading inside with a "mild to moderate" calf strain, putting him in doubt for the club's main intraclub match on February 13 in Bunbury.
The 27-year-old continued his rehab on Thursday morning before heading inside during the Dockers' main training session, with executive general manager of football Joe Brierty expecting the big man to recover in time for the club's tune up against the Eagles in 16 days' time.
"It's probably a mild to moderate calf strain with a timeframe of around two weeks, so whether he's available for our second intraclub, we would expect him to be ready for the West Coast game," Brierty told AFL.com.au.
Darcy's availability for at least one pre-season game ahead of the round one clash against Geelong will be important as the team looks to settle its ruck structure and allow Luke Jackson to play more minutes as a ground-level midfielder.
Brierty said the Dockers' list was in good shape ahead of the main pre-season hitouts, with forward Sam Sturt the only long-term concern as he targets a return from his anterior cruciate ligament injury in July.
Half-back Cooper Simpson has a minor hip issue that he is managing, while developing ruck Aiden Riddle suffered an ankle injury in a recent match simulation that will sideline him for three weeks.
Captain Alex Pearce is being managed carefully in the lead-up to the season after his stress-related setbacks last year, sitting out last Friday's match simulation and watching on from the sidelines on Thursday.
"Alex is a loading thing. We obviously had the stress issues with his leg last year and we just want to be really diligent," Brierty said.
"He's got such a strong base with the length of his career to date, and we feel that we can get the right work into him and he can be up and going.
"Pre-season is long, and our priority is to mitigate risk with him. He pulled up a little bit sore after a couple of sessions and also had to fly to Melbourne … so we'll manage him where we need to in the coming weeks.
"He'll be ready to go for the start of the season."
The Dockers take on Adelaide at Rushton Park in Mandurah on February 28 in the AAMI Community Series before launching their season against Geelong at GMHBA Stadium on March 14.
