Sydney Swans midfielder Nic Fosdike is in doubt for round one after injuring his knee at training last week
Fosdike strained his medial ligament during a pre-season training drill, and is expected to need between four and six weeks recovery time.
“Fossie hurt his knee last week, said senior coach Paul Roos, after the teams’ rain-soaked training session on Monday morning.
“I think it’s a medial ligament strain.”
Fosdike’s injury places him in doubt for the Swans’ season opener against St Kilda on March 22 at the Telstra Dome in Melbourne.
Roos said Fosdike’s availability for that match would depend on how quickly he recovers, as his fitness is unlikely to cause problem.
“It depends how quickly he heals. Some guys heal fast and some guys heal slowly.”
“The thing Fossie’s got in his favour is he’s very fit- he’s our fittest player- so it’s not really a fitness issue in terms of his aerobic capacity, more just the injury. If the injury heals, he normally comes up pretty quickly.
Roos said many of the other players who had off-season surgery were recovering well.
“Everyone else is pretty good,” said Roos.
“(Barry) Hall’s back in training, Tadhg is due back next week, and Leo Barry’s back in training.”
Meanwhile, the AFL today announced 12 new life members, including Sydney Swans’ ruckman Peter Everitt. The three-time All-Australian qualified for life membership during the 2007 season, when he reaches 300 games of service, including 275 premiership and 29 pre-season matches.
