ON TRACK: Fremantle midfielder Anthony Morabito (left) is aiming for a Round 1 return next season. Picture: Daniel Wilkins Source: PerthNow
FREMANTLE could be bolstered for its Round 1 Western Derby by a remarkable return from injury by midfielder Anthony Morabito.
Morabito's manager, Colin Young, said the Dockers bolter was confident he would be ready to put his hand up for the season opener and could be in line for selection as early as the NAB Cup, marking an against-the-odds recovery from consecutive knee reconstructions.
Morabito, the Dockers' top pick from the 2009 draft, has not played for Fremantle since the 2010 finals series after rupturing his left ACL in the following pre-season.
The Peel product, who turns 21 at the end of this month, was battling his way back through the WAFL and had made seven appearances for the Thunder before suffering a recurrence of the injury at a Fremantle training session in July.
Dockers coach Ross Lyon noted last month that his player's initial reconstruction had not been successful, leading to the re-injury, but Young said the second operation had produced better results.
"I haven't spoken to Morra since the best-and-fairest, but he's on track for the NAB Cup," Young said.
"I said to him: 'Still Round 1?' and, he said: 'Nah, NAB's looking good'. He's keen to start for the NAB Cup; he said he's ready to go and doesn't see any problems starting Round 1 and going on.
"He looked in great shape when he was training and he's very confident, very excited about next year."
A pre-season return for Morabito would be a stunning recovery and an overdue bit of good fortune for the footballer.
After his first operation in December, 2010, it took almost 16 months for his return to football a 15-touch game with Peel reserves in Round 3 in late-March this year.
An NAB Cup return would mark a seven-month layoff, while Round 1 selection to face the Eagles would be eight months' recovery.
Young said there was a notable difference in Morabito's reaction to the latest surgery.
"He went to Melbourne to have the operation under Julian Feller, who's probably the master of all surgeons in Victoria," Young said.
"He was pretty convinced that he'd be back for NAB Cup, if not, then latest Round 1 and so he's very happy with the outcome of working with Julian.
"(The first time around) I don't think in his own mind he felt confident the operations were successful: he didn't feel right.
"He really feels 120 per cent now, since the last one.
"He had no swelling at all after the operation and he's really confident going forward."
Fremantle begins its pre-season on November 14, with the first-to-third-year players, with general manager of football operations Chris Bond saying the Dockers expected Morabito to rejoin ball drills in January.
"It's tragic circumstances, but to his credit he's really dug in," Bond told ABC radio.
"We've had the surgery done and we're expecting him to start running well into our pre-season and join in our football in January.
"We're in no doubt at all that we're going to get a fair bit of footy out of him."
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