Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir has rubbished a suggestion that Dockers captain Nat Fyfe should relinquish his captaincy as he recovers from complications related to a shoulder operation.
The dual Brownlow Medallist has had two rounds of surgery on his injured right shoulder and battled a bacterial infection, which has delayed his start to the club's pre-season training — threatening to make him unavailable for the start of the 2022 AFL season.
The setback led to a suggestion from Essendon great Tim Watson that Fyfe should step down as Dockers captain if he wasn't going to be able to play in the early rounds of next season.
But Longmuir has rejected the suggestion.
"I really do see this as a short-term thing.
"If he's not ready for the start of the year, he'll be ready really close to the start of the year."
Fyfe has been cleared of the infection and has returned to training.
"He's training seven days a week now and although he won't be able to run for a little while and do contact work, there's plenty of stuff he can do to get ready for the season," Longmuir said.
"Knowing Fyfey, he'll be really committed to being the best player but also the best leader he can be."
Dockers double-vaxxed
Fremantle is on track to have all players double-vaccinated ahead of the AFL's pre-season, with just one player needing a second jab.
The Dockers are confident that player will receive his second dose before the February cut off.
"My understanding at the moment is we're just waiting on one player to get double-vaxxed, so expecting everyone to be double-vaxxed by the start [of] preseason," Longmuir said.
"[It's] just timing. There's no hesitation."
