Fremantle are yet to get to the bottom of Cam McCarthy’s scary training collapse, with the forward almost certain to miss Saturday’s AFL clash with Brisbane at the Gabba.
McCarthy was taken to hospital last week after collapsing at training during a non-contact drill.
The 25-year-old has undergone a series of tests since then but the Dockers want to get more answers before risking him on the field.
“I wouldn’t think he’d be a chance to play on Saturday,” Dockers coach Justin Longmuir told Seven Network.
“It was obviously a significant thing that happened to him and we’ve got to make sure that his health is in good order.
“Once we tick that off we’ll work out a progression back to playing footy.
“He’s had ongoing tests … so we’ll get all the details on the table and have a chat to the doctors over the coming days.
“From there we’ll work out his progressions going forward and make sure that he’s in good health, first and foremost.”
Despite being unlikely to play face the Lions, McCarthy is expected to join the rest of his teammates when they fly to the Gold Coast on Tuesday for their four-week hub.
Forward Jesse Hogan is pushing his case for selection against Brisbane after making an impressive return from a mental health break.
Hogan played all of Friday’s match simulation and Fremantle’s high performance manager Jason Weber said the forward had pulled up well.
“Jesse’s doing really well. His fitness was very good coming in. What he hadn’t done was a lot of football practice,” Weber said.
“We progressed him through and were working with him one-on-one to see what he could handle and he was very happy with how things went.”
Fellow forwards Sam Sturt (back) and Matt Taberner (back) have overcome recent injuries, but no timeline has been set for the return of key defenders Alex Pearce (ankle) and Joel Hamling (ankle).