Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir says he’s confident star Hayden Young will make his return from concussion against North Melbourne down in Bunbury on Saturday.
Longmuir has also backed midfielder Matt Johnson (hamstring) and defender Brennan Cox (knee) to take their place in the side despite sustaining injuries in their win over Brisbane at the weekend.
This time last week, Longmuir said he was “hopeful” Young would be deemed fit to take on the Lions but this week he just needed to pull up well from training to be named.
Young trained alongside his teammates at Cockburn on Thursday morning, with the team to be announced this afternoon.
“I’m confident, he’s still got one final box to tick. He’s got to get through training and then he’s got to pull up well from training,” Longmuir said.
“I get a feeling his mindset has shifted this week as well. He’s a lot more confident, feels like he’s through the worst of it. He’s got to finish off the concussion protocols but I’m confident.”
Young has not played since the round nine win against Hawthorn, having sustained a concussion at training in the days after the come-from-behind win against the fellow premiership fancies.
It was the latest in a series of injury setbacks for the 25-year-old who has played only 14 games since the start of last year.
Longmuir said Young would be on restricted minutes but given he could run while in protocols the midfielder had not lost conditioning.
“The beauty of his training the past couple of weeks is he just hasn’t done contact, but he’s been able to do a lot of running,” he said.
“He’s been doing a lot of extras, so he’s been able to handle that so that hasn’t been an issue.
“We’ll be able to manage his minutes. He doesn’t play massive minutes anyway and we’ll work on his split between mid and forward like he always does.”
In a positive sign, Johnson was also out on the track alongside Young despite finishing the game on the bench with a hamstring issue.
However, Cox was restricted to running laps and skipper Alex Pearce watched training as they prepare for the Kangaroos at Hands Oval.
“I am confident both (Cox and Johnson) will be right to play. They’ve got to get through training though,” he said.
“I’m more confident with Johnno though, to be honest. Coxy is an interesting one and with the bye next week, is it an opportunity to give him a couple of weeks off to try to get that knee right.
“We’ll see how he feels after training and make a call after that.”
Longmuir also cleared star Shai Bolton of any concern despite the Brownlow Medal contender donning a glove and no-contact fluro hat at training on Tuesday.
