Fremantle ruckman Sean Darcy will have surgery to fix the knee issue that plagued the end of his season.
Darcy missed the crucial final three games of the Dockers’ season with a left knee problem he picked up in their round 21 loss to Essendon at the MCG.
He pulled out just hours before the team’s clash with Geelong at Optus Stadium and missed defeats to Greater Western Sydney and Port Adelaide that meant they missed the finals.
Darcy will undergo an arthroscope on his knee to help his build towards pre-season.
“Sean consulted a surgical specialist yesterday and we have decided an arthroscope is the best course of action going forward for the long-term health of Sean’s knee,” general manager of football Joe Brierty said.
“Having the procedure done now will enable Sean to have the best possible preparation and set him up for season 2025.
“At this stage, it is planned that Sean will be returning to running in six to eight weeks.”
It will be the second straight year Darcy has been put in for minor knee surgery.
The news is better for midfield star Hayden Young, who has avoided surgery after fracturing his fibula in the final-round loss to the Power.
Young was hurt early in the final quarter, shifted to the forward line and was seen limping around the ground in the late stages of the match.
“Hayden sustained an undisplaced fracture in his fibula in his fibula late in the game against Port Adelaide,” Brierty said.
“The injury will heal without any surgical intervention, but he will require a non-leading period off legs.”
The Dockers do not expect Young’s injury will effect his pre-season.
Darcy’s looming procedure comes after football analyst Kane Cornes labelled his absence for their important matches a “disaster” and doubled down on his calls for the ruckman to be traded.
Cornes is adamant the Dockers’ high-priced ruck combination of Darcy and Luke Jackson doesn’t work, because the premier ruckman isn’t playing enough.
“It might be good when they both play, but the facts are they don’t both play,” he said.
“And the facts are, when you sign up a guy that has had injury worries at 115 kilograms for seven years and he’s played 12 games for the year and when you desperately need him in the last three weeks — and in a cut-throat game ahead of finals — he’s not available.
“Justin (Longmuir), this isn’t working and everyone could see it was going to be a disaster and it is a disaster… they need him badly and he’s not out there.”
Source Agencies
