Fremantle have suffered a late blow heading into Sunday’s AFL derby against West Coast, with star midfielder Stephen Hill ruled out with a hamstring injury.

Hill has been replaced in the 25-man squad by Matt de Boer, who had initially been dropped.

Although Hill has been ruled out, Fremantle coach Ross Lyon is super confident fellow midfielders Michael Barlow and Nat Fyfe will play.

Barlow hasn’t played since injuring his knee in the club’s win over Gold Coast on March 29.

But the 26-year-old trained strongly on Monday and will play in the derby barring any late mishaps.

“I’m really, really, really, really confident,” Lyon said on Friday.

“He did a huge amount (of training) on Monday, so we backed him off on Wednesday so he would be cherry ripe for today.

“He’s a ball magnet and he brings enormous run and spirit to the team.

“We’re always glad to add those elements to the team.”

Barlow has become renowned as a derby specialist in recent years, with the Victorian last year winning both Ross Glendinning medals for the best on ground.

Fyfe missed training on Wednesday, but Lyon denied reports the 22-year-old was battling the flu.

“It’s certainly not the flu and he is basically 100 per cent,” Lyon said.

Wingman Anthony Morabito succumbed to tonsillitis this week, but is expected to be fit to line up for Peel Thunder in the WAFL.

West Coast are set to welcome back long-kicking defender Shannon Hurn (knee) and skipper Darren Glass (suspension), while the Dockers have been bolstered by the return from suspension of Hayden Ballantyne.