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Fremantle’s ruckman Sean Darcy injures knee at training, will wear brace for up to month

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Braden QuartermaineThe West Australian
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Sean Darcy has suffered ligament damage to his knee at training.
Camera IconSean Darcy has suffered ligament damage to his knee at training. Credit: Fremantle FC

Fremantle ruckman Sean Darcy’s preparation for the 2021 season has been complicated by a knee injury suffered at training this week.

The Dockers have not put a time frame on his return to playing after scans showed he damaged a ligament in his left knee on Wednesday.

It’s a tough blow for the 22-year-old, who just two days ago spoke about his need to stay fit and healthy heading into the upcoming season.

“My approach has just been to get as fit as possible and make sure I'm healthy and out training every training session,” Darcy said on Wednesday.

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“I've had a lot of pre-seasons where I come back fit and then I break down in January and I'm out for eight weeks and it really affects you during the year.”

Fremantle football operations manager Peter Bell said Darcy would now need to wear a knee brace for at least a fortnight.

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“Scans have shown that Sean has damaged his arcuate ligament in his left knee,” Bell said.

“The current advice is he will need to wear a knee brace for the next two to four weeks.

“This means Sean will miss a number of weeks of pre-season training and the injury will be reassessed once he is out of the knee brace.”

Sean Darcy already had his left knee heavily strapped.
Camera IconSean Darcy already had his left knee heavily strapped. Credit: Fremantle FC

Earlier this week Darcy was full of praise for the Dockers’ new training regime and felt his endurance had improved.

"I feel like I'm covering the ground a lot better. I'm not as tired in training, I'm thinking a lot more clearly, and I'm making the right decisions," Darcy said on Wednesday.

"There's obviously a lot more work to go, which is good, but I'm feeling a lot better.

"We're not doing the same running that we used to do last year, so it's been a really good change.

"I feel like I'm running really well … I feel a lot fitter."

Darcy was restricted to just 15 games in 2020 after he injured the same left knee against Brisbane at the Gabba.

Luckily scans cleared the big man of any serious damage.

But the ruckman is yet to play a full season for the Dockers, with injuries restricting him to just 41 games in four seasons after taking over the mantle from Aaron Sandilands as Freo’s number one big man.

The Dockers are currently scheduled to face Melbourne at the MCG in their season-opener on March 20, giving Darcy little room to move.

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