FREMANTLE star Nat Fyfe is rated a 50/50 chance to return from his groin injury for next Sunday's clash with St Kilda, Dockers coach Ross Lyon says.
Fyfe did not play in Fremantle's 21-point win over Greater Western Sydney at Domain Stadium on Sunday after he was ruled out earlier in the week with a groin problem.
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Lyon said Fyfe trained on Sunday morning but was no guarantee of lining up against the Saints.
"He trained a little bit today," Lyon said following Sunday's win.
"He would still be 50/50 I reckon for the Saints game."
Lyon said the Dockers were in reasonable shape heading towards the finals with experienced defender Michael Johnson edging closer to a return.
Johnson has not play since round 10 after he needed surgery to repair a serious hamstring injury, but Lyon is confident the veteran will back for the Dockers' round 20 clash with West Coast.
"He's been in full training for a while," Lyon said.
"He's in pretty good nick. He's so important to us. The odds are in his favour. But we'll see."
WATCH: Ross Lyon's full post-match media conference
The Dockers look set to be without Zac Dawson for at least next week's clash against the Saints with his stray elbow to Jeremy Cameron in the first quarter to come under scrutiny from the Match Review Panel.
Cameron had to leave the field immediately as his nose bled profusely and although he played out the game with heavy strapping across his face, he needed the strapping re-applied several times as he continued to bleed.
Lyon said he didn't see the incident and would not consider any selection decisions until the Match Review Panel had adjudicated on it.
It could have significant ramifications for Lyon after he successfully experimented with Alex Pearce up forward on Sunday. The young key defender gathered 12 touches, took five marks and kicked a goal, although he had four shots at goal.
Lyon was really pleased with Pearce's output and said it was a really tough decision to sub him out in the last quarter.
"I really liked what I saw," Lyon said.
"(He showed) speed, movement, took some good marks. Kicked one, should've kicked three really shouldn't he?
"We were really flummoxed at three-quarter time and halfway through the third because he was going well.
"So it was nothing to do with form. It was just a flip of the coin really.
"We liked it, and he gives us that flexibility to go down back.
"It's good, and it puts pressure obviously on (Matt) Taberner rather than just getting a game by default if you're the only tall. So he's got to compete a bit more fiercely for his spot. So it's a win-win."
