Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir has given a promising update on Jesse Hogan, saying he felt the forward was “heading in the right direction” during his time away from the club.

The 25-year-old, in his second season at the Dockers since crossing from Melbourne, has been on a mental health break since late January.

“The only real update that I’ve got is that he’s progressing really well,” Longmuir told 7News.

“I had a good conversation with him last week, he seemed in good spirits, ready to do some training on his own and he seemed in a really positive frame of mind.

“He’s heading in the right direction.”

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The rookie Freo coach said the focus was on getting Hogan’s mental health right, rather than a return to the field.

Hogan hasn’t played at AFL level since sustaining a serious foot injury against his former team Melbourne, where he booted 152 goals in 71 appearances, in round 14 last year.

He has featured only a dozen times for Fremantle after getting lured back to his home State on a three-year deal during the 2018 trade period.

“It’s probably the least of our priorities, we want him healthy and in a good frame of mind when he returns,” Longmuir said.

“We’ll tick that box first and we’ll worry about footy secondly.”

Fremantle’s massive injury list could be wiped completely by the time the coronavirus-hit season resumes, with Alex Pearce (ankle), Nathan Wilson (toe), Blake Acres (hamstring), Stephen Hill (quad), David Mundy (leg) likely to be fit and even Joel Hamling (ankle) a chance.

“That is a positive, I know our players our working really hard to get their fitness base and get their injuries right,” Longmuir said.

“It looks like if this drags out for a couple of months that we’ll get Blake Acres, Stephen Hill, Joel Hamling, Alex Pearce, David Mundy and Nathan Wilson — they’ll all be in line for selection.”