Fremantle ruckman Sean Darcy is heading to the sands of Doha in a drastic bid to get his knee right for round one on March 16.
The Dockers ruckman underwent knee surgery in August last year and is headed to Qatar later this week to work with a series of medical specialists.
Despite the move, Fremantle’s Executive General Manager of Football Joe Brierty said Darcy’s recovery had been tracking well, and the specialists would merely be complimenting his rehabilitation program.
“Sean will spend a week at Aspetar Sports Medical Clinic consulting with their specialists to embed some new strategies in his program,” he said.
“These strategies will specifically relate to Sean’s strength program and functional movement to complement a lot of the work already implemented by our Performance Health team.
“With things progressing well and looking to commence Sean’s re-integration into football, we are now at a stage where we feel that the timing is right to continue to invest in practices to aid his progression.
“We’re looking for any short-term gains to assist with Sean’s return to play, but we are also looking at the long-term stability of his knee.”
It’s not the first time Fremantle have headed to the desert for medical answers, having sent speedy defender Heath Chapman to Qatar’s Aspetar Sports Medical Clinic last February to help treat a series of hamstring issues.
Darcy managed just 12 games in 2024, the least since his second season of AFL in 2018, the last of which came in the one-point loss to Essendon at the MCG on August 4.
The big man looked to have trimmed down over the off-season after having been plagued by injuries in recent seasons but will depart for Doha on January 24 accompanied by Fremantle Strength and Conditioning Manager Jackson Dennis.
https://thewest.com.au/sport/fremantle-dockers/fremantle-dockers-ruckman-sean-darcy-to-travel-to-doha-to-continue-his-rehabilitation-from-knee-surgery-c-17460883
