Hayden Young after the round 21 match between Fremantle and Carlton at Optus Stadium, August 3, 2025. Picture: Getty Images

FREMANTLE is hopeful a fresh groin injury suffered by star midfielder Hayden Young is only minor after the gun left-footer broke down in his third game back from hamstring surgery.

Carlton, meanwhile, is bracing for the worst after young defender Harry O’Farrell suffered a suspected ACL injury in the Blues’ 27-point loss to the Dockers at Optus Stadium.

DOCKERS v BLUES Full match coverage and stats

Young came from the ground 20 minutes into the first quarter on Sunday and appeared in pain as physios assessed his groin, with the 24-year-old attempting some run throughs at quarter-time.

He was unable to return, however, with coach Justin Longmuir conceding the setback was not ideal one month out from finals and after an already interrupted year. 

“We were hoping to get a bit of continuity with him, so touch wood it’s not too bad. It doesn’t look very serious. He just couldn’t get going,” Longmuir said on Sunday night. 

“I think today’s injury was just a bit unlucky and a bit more of a twisting action. But when you miss as much work as he did over pre-season, and he’s had repeat hammies, it puts you at serious risk when you come back. 

“Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to buffer that stage that you need to regain full fitness, but also the resilience in his body.”

Young had an interrupted pre-season after a fractured leg in the final game of 2024 and a pre-Christmas knock to the same area, then suffering back-to-back hamstring injuries in February. He went under the knife for a third hamstring injury in May.

Longmuir paid tribute to the role of substitute Neil Erasmus, who was injected into the game and had 16 disposals and six tackles in a midfield and wing role, while Jaeger O’Meara and Luke Jackson were both important as big-bodied onballers.

Young’s injury comes as dual Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe mounts his own comeback from a calf injury, winning 27 disposals in managed game time for Peel Thunder on Saturday.

Longmuir said he had ideas about how Fyfe could fit into the team at the pointy end of the season.

“I thought he was the best player on the ground for his 60 minutes. He only played 60 minutes though, so we’ll have a chat during the week,” Longmuir said of Fyfe.

“He’ll be involved in that and work out his next progression and whether there’s a spot in the side.

“But we’re running out of time in the season, and we need to put our best team out there to win next week … so we’ll see what it spits out at selection.”

Carlton played some of the best football of its disappointing season in the first half, winning the centre clearances 11-1 and applying relentless pressure to build a 24-point lead.

They conceded seven of the last eight goals in the fourth quarter, however, and will now sweat on scans for impressive youngster O’Farrell, who went down innocuously in the second quarter after a marking contest.

“Unfortunately, it might look like an ACL … so shattering news for us and in particular him,” Voss said.

“We’ve been so impressed with the young man, and he’s going to evolve into a very good player for us.

“So we’ve all got our fingers crossed that it doesn’t turn out to be that. We’re hoping, obviously, a different result comes back.

“He’s just a natural footballer, and the players just love playing with him, because he’s just super reliable. He’s going to be a very good player for us, so if we do lose him for that period of time, it’s a bit shattering for us.”

Meanwhile, Voss said midfielder/forward Elijah Hollands would return to the club this week and play VFL after a lengthy period of time away from the AFL program.

Hollands was given support to take a period of leave in March for personal reasons, returning briefly for a block of five games before again taking indefinite leave in late May.

“He’ll come back into the club this week. He’s been hovering around the VFL, doing a bit of that. He’ll be back this week and playing VFL football,” Voss said.  

“He’s been training pretty hard, so he’ll be ready to go.”