Rory Lobb will miss the rest of the season after undergoing surgery on his injured shoulder on Monday, according to high performance manager Jason Weber.

The versatile forward/ruck sustained the injury during Fremantle’s one-point win against Sydney in round 18.

Weber said that Lobb would commence rehabilitation with the expectation of being ready for the start of pre-season training.

“Rory principally had a shoulder injury, but in fact it’s an anchor for one of the muscles of the upper body that comes off the front of the chest,” Weber said.

“He damaged that bone a couple of weeks ago, he was able to play through but unfortunately, the damage has required surgery.

“He’s had that done and he’s now looking forward to a strong rehab period.”

Weber said that injured defender Nathan Wilson was still expected to play in 2019.

“Nathan injured his toe some weeks ago and he was able to play through for some time,” Weber said.

“At this stage he’s still working through with the doctors on his capability of possibly getting up for this week or in the near future.”

Fellow defender Luke Ryan is expected to be two weeks away as he recoveres from a hamstring injury.

Ryan sustained the injury to his right hamstring as a consequence of receiving a cork to his left quad against the Western Bulldogs.

“Luke is progressing really well,” Weber said.

“He had the hamstring that came secondary to the cork a few weeks ago. He’s training really well and we expect him back in the near future.”

Weber said that Brennan Cox (hip) was ‘doing well’ and one week away while Stephen Hill was also progressing.

“Stephen is training well, he’s progressing very strongly but at this stage he’s got a few KPIs to achieve yet,” Weber said.

“Once he ticks those off, we’ll look to start discussing when he will be able to play again.”

Freo have seen injuries hit their younger ranks through Tom North (calf), Tobe Watson (knee) and Luke Valente (groin).

Weber was hopeful North would play for Peel this weekend, while Watson will miss a fortnight and Valente is ruled out for the season.

“Tom had a very small calf strain. It cost him a week and he’ll test this week to see if he can play,” Weber said.

“Tobe damaged his knee a fortnight ago and he’s progressing well.

“The doctors think it may be another week or two and we should be able to get him back on the field.”

Weber said that Fremantle put a line through Valente’s season so he can focus on developing for the 2020 pre-season.

“Luke’s a young man with some groin injuries that he brought to the club,” Weber said.

“They’ve progressed over the course of the year - but with the view to him being in a stronger position next year, we’ve decided to work on developing him further physically and getting him ready for the pre-season.”

Player Injury Estimated duration Tom North Calf Test Brennan Cox Hip 1 week Luke Ryan Hamstring 2 weeks Tobe Watson Knee 2 weeks Nathan Wilson Toe TBA Stephen Hill Quad TBA Lloyd Meek Foot Season Stefan Giro Knee Season Alex Pearce Ankle Season Matt Taberner Foot Season Jesse Hogan Foot Season Rory Lobb Shoulder Season Luke Valente Groin Season



