Dockers confirm fracture and lengthy stint on sidelines for captain Alex Pearce

Jarred Cross Published June 25, 2024 at 2.30pm (AWST)

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Pearce is due for surgery after fracturing his arm against the Suns at the weekend. (Image: Facebook)

Alex Pearce is set for surgery, with the Docker's expecting to miss their skipper for up to a month after scans revealed the extent of the arm injury he suffered against Gold Coast.

On Tuesday, Fremantle confirmed the Palawa defender had fractured his left forearm and will be sidelined for the next three to four weeks.

The club captain underwent scans on Monday after being subbed out of their win over the Suns following an awkward landing in a marking contest late in the third quarter of the match.

The 29-year-old is due to surgery later this week before a period of rehab.

"Obviously, disappointing to lose Alex for the next few weeks, he has had a fantastic year down back to date and his leadership has been second to none," Dockers executive general manager of football Joe Brierty said.

"Our performance health team will work closely with Alex to return to football as soon as possible and provide him with the best support possible following his surgery.

"With Alex unavailable it provides an opportunity for someone to fill that role."

*Pearce was subbed out of the contest during the third quarter following an awkward landing in a marking contest. (Image: AAP)*

Pearce has initially appeared to hyperextend his elbow in the incident, with Justin Longmuir first remaining optimistic his "tough" captain would be right to line up against Sydney.

"He's got a sore arm. That's all I can give you at the moment," the Dockers coach said on Sunday.

"We haven't had an update from the doc. Clearly he was worried about it coming off but I don't think the doc's found anything clear cut. So we'll just have to wait and see how it pulls up and see whether it needs a scan. And I'm unsure of the next step."

The setback extends Freo's injury list which was already nearing double figures heading into the weekend's clash.

Michael Walters has a similar recovery period in front of him after being ruled out for up to four weeks with a hamstring injury after limping from the ground in their loss to the Western Bulldogs a week prior to Pearce's injury.

The Dockers' win over Gold Coast shot up from eighth to fifth on the AFL ladder, with at five fixtures against current top eight side's included in their run home to finals.

Fremantle face a flying Swans outfit at the SCG on Saturday.