Captain Jarrod Witts will be available for selection in Round 1 after successfully overcoming a pre-season foot injury.
Head Physiotherapist Lindsay Bull told SUNS Media Witts had been integrated back into training and has ticked all the boxes to line up in Round 1.
“Just after the Christmas break Wittsy was doing some running on his own and unfortunately went over on his ankle which resulted in a fractured fifth metatarsal,” Bull said.
“We’ve been going through a really thorough rehabilitation program since then and he’s come out the other side really well.
“He’s been training over the last couple of weeks and all being well this week he’ll be available for selection.”
Defender Jack Hombsch is also expected to be available after recovering from a fractured rib at training.
Forward Alex Sexton will be on the sidelines for at least another week as he recovers from a hamstring injury sustained in the second Marsh Community Series match.
“Alex is going really well, he had a low grade hamstring injury in that game,” Bull said.
“He’s hit his markers really nicely through his rehab but we still just have a little bit more to tick off with him prior to resuming full training so he’ll be unavailable this weekend.”
Veterans Jarrod Harbrow and Pearce Hanley have also been on modified programs as they recover from respective groin and calf injuries.
“At the end of the season Jarrod had surgery on his groin injury that he’d been managing throughout the 2019 season,” Bull said.
“He’s rehabbed really well with that and he’s been integrating into training over the past two or three weeks and so he’ll keep training this week with the group.
“Pearce is into training this week after hurting his calf just coming back from the Christmas break.
“He’s had a really gradual build-up and a really controlled program so he’s into training this week as well.”
Ruck recruit Zac Smith suffered an injury at training and will spend a short amount of time on the sidelines.
“Zac hurt his big toe joint in training during match simulation on Friday,” Bull said.
“He’s in a boot at the moment and we’ll reassess whether that comes off at the back end of the week but we don’t expect Zac to miss too much footy.”
Finally, key defender Rory Thompson is tracking well in his recovery from an ACL injury sustained in early 2019 and will be available in the coming weeks.
“Rory’s been training really well over the off-season and he’s been in with the group over the last three or four weeks,” Bull said.
“He just needs a bit further training with the group and full integration into training before he’s available for selection.”
Click here for the full injury list.
