Skilled forward Orazio Fantasia is eyeing a return to the field this weekend.
The 22-year-old was a late withdrawal for the second week running last week but Physical Performance Manager Justin Crow says the fiery small forward could make his return.
”Orazio, again, we left late in the week to prove his fitness – he was close, he could do most things,” Crow told the club's website on Tuesday.
“We ended up getting a good training session into him on the Saturday, but right at death’s door we made the decision not to play him, because we felt there was still too much risk in terms of how much he’d recovered from his original injury.
“Orazio will do all of training tomorrow, we’re expecting him to go well in that session and then be available.”
Crow also spoke about important midfielder David Zaharakis' injury. He's been out with a collarbone injury since round 11 but his quick progress could mean he's ready for a return.
“Dave’s now been surgically and medically cleared in terms of his actual pathology and injury,” Crow added.
“Now the real test is that he can get into training, we’re hoping he does a full session tomorrow.
“We’ll be watching him closely in terms of both his fitness and his ability to play the game from a physical point of view, and if he can prove himself in both of those aspects he’ll be made available.”
Adam Saad's injury scares aren't anything serious as Crow says he was benched in last week's game just to prevent further damage.
“Adam Saad finished on the bench – that was just us being really careful after a hamstring cramp to make sure that he was ok this week,” he said.
“We’ll be monitoring him closely to make sure he’s recovered from that.”
Former Bulldog Jake Stringer is also tracking well in his recovery.
“Jake’s making good progress, he’s been working hard in rehab. We’ll be watching him week by week.
“We’re not expecting him to be available this week, but we’ll be looking closely at him to see how quickly he turns the corner from that calf strain.”
