Fremantle young guy Cooper Simpson will have surgery on his injured AC joint and miss the next 10 weeks in a savage blow to his burgeoning career.
Simpson bravely put his body on the line during Saturday night’s win over Port Adelaide, crashing into Logan Evans during a contest for a ground ball and coming off second best.
The Docker was subbed out of the game in extreme pain and scans have shown he suffered a high grade AC joint injury that included a displaced clavicle.
“This is a relatively rare injury and the best intervention is to head in for surgery,” Dockers Footy Boss Joe Brierty said.
“We will know more on timeframes post the procedure, but at this stage we expect Coop to be back playing in around 10 weeks.
“Obviously it’s disappointing for him after returning to AFL footy. He put his body on the line for the team and it’s those trademark actions that we value.
“We will support him through this setback and we know Coop will work diligently in his recovery.”
Simpson was playing just his fifth AFL game but had shown enormous promise after changing to playing across half-back. His speed and creativity gave the Dockers a different look but now he’ll have to wait until the last month of the season to play again.
Dockers coach Justin Longmuir gave Simpson high praise for the way he attacked the contest when speaking after the win.
“I highlighted it after the game,” Longmuir said.
“It’s real growth in his game to be able to own the line of the ball like he did and commit to that contest. The game of footy puts you in those situations — really vulnerable situations where you have to ‘go’ for the team. I really loved his endeavour and his commitment to that contest. When our youngest players are doing that, it’s a great sign.’’
