Fremantle defender Joel Hamling underwent surgery on his dislocated ankle on Monday.

Hamling injured his ankle when he landed heavily on his left leg after contesting a mark at training last week.

“The purpose of the surgery was to repair damage to the medial ligament. The advice we have from the specialist is that the surgery, which went very well, will not prolong Joel’s recovery period,” general manager of football Peter Bell said.

“Joel will have a period of immobilisation, after which we will be better placed to determine a time frame for his return to full training.

“While we are taking a cautious approach, we are confident that Joel will still play a significant number of games this season.”