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Fremantle Dockers cop another blow with Adam Cerra set to miss a month of AFL action

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Mark DuffieldThe West Australian
VideoThe Fremantle Dockers scored their first win on the road this season with a 12-point victory over the Adelaide Crows

Fremantle have copped another serious injury blow with news that midfielder Adam Cerra will miss about a month of football after scans confirmed an ankle syndesmosis injury.

The injury is at the lower and of seriousness for a syndesmosis, but Cerra will miss three to four games.

That will put him on the sidelines for Fremantle’s Optus Stadium matches against North Melbourne, West Coast and Brisbane and in doubt for the clash with Essendon at Marvel Stadium in round nine.

The Dockers hoped Cerra had dodged serious injury after getting the ankle caught underneath his body in a tackle in the first quarter of the Dockers’ 12-point win against Adelaide at Adelaide Oval on Sunday.

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He was subbed out of the game and replaced by Mitch Crowden.

General manager of football operations Joe Brierty maintained the injury was on the minor side.

“It’s a low-grade syndesmosis injury and we expect he will be out for around three to four weeks,” Brierty said.

“He will be in a moon boot for a week. Next week he will get out of that and begin some functionality testing and hopefully transition back into football from there.”

Cerra, who finished third in Fremantle’s Doig Medal count in 2020, is in the final year of a contract and the club has already put forward a lucrative four-year offer believed to be worth around $3 million in a bid to head off overtures from his home State Victoria.

He is regarded as the key signing for the Dockers this year after Andrew Brayshaw re-committed to the club.

Cerra was the fifth player taken in the 2017 national draft.

VideoThe Fremantle Dockers scored their first win on the road this season with a 12-point victory over the Adelaide Crows

Brayshaw was the second player taken and the pair have developed their careers in parallel with Cerra having played 63 games and Brayshaw 61.

Meanwhile key defenders Joel Hamling (ankle) and Alex Pearce (knee) are stepping up their comebacks with the club now targeting a round-eight return for Hamling.

“Joel is commencing some high speed on-field running now,” Brierty said.

“Alex is going really well as well. He was out of the brace last week which was fantastic for him. He has done a couple of alter-G sessions (weight assisted treadmill) and today he completed his first on-field running session of around five kilometres.”

Midfielder Brett Bewley is a chance to return in the WAFL this weekend after a groin issue.

The Dockers will also take Darcy Tucker to the cusp of an AFL return this weekend with a full game in the WAFL. Tucker gathered 32 disposals off managed match time for Peel Reserves last weekend after a hamstring injury.

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