Hayden Young and Fremantle fans can breathe a sigh of relief after the Dockers star narrowly avoided another fracture to his leg during pre-season training.
Young had suffered a "nasty knock" before Christmas to the fibula he had fractured in last year's final-round loss to Port Adelaide.
The 23-year-old midfielder initially believed he had re-fractured the bone, but said he was lucky to escape with only bone bruising.
Young, who is undertaking offload conditioning outside of the club, was able to complete full training after returning to the Dockers on Monday.
"I had a little hiccup pre-Chrissy, which was frustrating," he said.
"It was tricky because when I did it the first time, I didn't know. I didn't think I'd broken it, I just thought I had a corkie.
"This time was a little bit scary. I thought, 'Oh, it feels similar'.
"I've got still a bit of work to do to get back to match fitness but I'm pretty happy I'm back out there running around."
Young isn't the only injury concern ahead of Fremantle's match against with the Indigenous All Stars team on February 15, with two-time All-Australian defender Luke Ryan involved in a heavy collision in a match simulation on Monday.
Sandwiched in a marking contest with key forward Jye Amiss and Hugh Davies, Ryan was kneed in the back by Amiss.
Young said he was confident Ryan had avoided serious injury.
"Luke is all good. He's pretty used to going back with the flight," Young said.
"He copped a heavy knock today but he seems alright, so that's a good sign.
"That's what we want. We want the intensity to be up.
"We've had a really fit list throughout the whole preseason, so everyone's just going really hard at the moment, which is great - bodies flying around.
"We know that round one is going to be sort of like that."
Young returns to training as the longest-contracted player in the AFL, having signed a monster six-year extension with Fremantle in December.
He had already signed a four-year deal in 2022 before committing to stay at the Dockers until 2033.
"I want to be one of the first players to hold up the cup with my teammates and share it with them," Young said.
"I suppose going to another club and chasing that, you wouldn't get the same satisfaction as sharing that experience with people that I've been with the last five years."
