Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir has dismissed suggestions Nat Fyfe could be set to announce an early retirement following the veteran's latest injury setback.
The 33-year-old, who is out of contract at the end of the season, faces another stint on the sidelines after damaging a hamstring playing for WAFL affiliate Peel Thunder on Saturday.
Fyfe lasted less than one quarter of the match, pulling up sore after attempting to lay a tackle.
The dual Brownlow medallist played 22 AFL games last season but has not featured at senior level this year.
He had arthroscopic knee surgery in January and battled ongoing soreness before his WAFL return was cut short.
"We feel like he was building really well, had a little hiccup last week with his knee and now he's had another setback," Longmuir said after Fremantle's 16.12 (108) to 7.5 (47) win over Richmond on Sunday.
"He'll be disappointed but I hope he realises it's a long season and there's still plenty of footy left."
Longmuir is confident Fyfe can get back and have an impact as Fremantle (3-2) press their case for a finals berth, riding a three-match winning streak into their round-six match against Melbourne.
"He's really confident with where his game was trending and where his body was trending," Longmuir said.
"We had a really strong discussion around bringing him back in this week (against Richmond), but we knew it was probably going to be hot and we had other guys on managed minutes.
"We didn't want to be too underdone."
Longmuir said he was flat when he heard news of Fyfe's latest setback while the Dockers were in South Australia for Gather Round.
"As a coach you don't want to see anyone get injured, let alone someone who's gone through a fair bit like him," Longmuir said.
"I see it as a little speed hump. He'll get a scan and our first thought is that it's not overly serious."
Longmuir was pleased to see ruckman Sean Darcy and midfield star Hayden Young get through their first AFL games of the season against Richmond after interrupted starts to the year.
He also dismissed concerns over All-Australian defender Luke Ryan, who had a sore left shoulder and was subbed out at three-quarter time.
