Fremantle will err on the side of caution with ruckman Aaron Sandilands, ruling the 211cm giant out of Saturday’s AFL clash with Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium.
Sandilands missed last week’s loss to Carlton after fluid from a knee complaint stirred up issues in his calf.
The 29-year-old pulled up sore from a run last Friday but is on track to return for the following week’s home match against Port Adelaide.
“He ran yesterday and ran really well and has pulled up quite well,” Lyon said on Wednesday.
“But we stirred it up on Friday.
“We tend to put a strong rehabilitation program in place and that will see him out to be available the week after. We’re really confident in Jon Griffin and Zac Clarke (to do the job against Gold Coast).”
Star midfielder Nat Fyfe will also be missing against the Suns, with Lyon urging the likes of David Mundy, Michael Barlow, Garrick Ibbotson, Tendai Mzungu and Lachie Neale to step up in his absence.
Fyfe will miss 12-16 weeks after deciding to undergo surgery on his reconstructed left shoulder.
“We’d love Nathan there but the fact is he’s not and everyone gets an opportunity to grow,” Lyon said.
“I’ve experienced it previously when a gun player’s gone down.
“You’ve got to be good enough to cover them and aim to play finals and have Nathan there at the right time.”
Dylan Roberton, Jay van Berlo and Alex Silvagni are in line for recalls, while mature-age rookie Lee Spurr could be handed an AFL debut.
But key forward Jack Anthony will struggle to hold his spot after tallying just four disposals last week.
“We all have whipping boys so, for whatever reason, people are happy to execute Jack and I think he deserves a little bit better than that,” Lyon said in defence of the former Magpie.
“We win and lose as a team together.
“We’ve still got to pick a team that wins on the Gold Coast so I’m not going to guarantee if Jack’s going to be in or out but, gee whiz, it’s a brutal business and we all understand that.
“My job is to support everyone and Jack is a good person. He just didn’t execute very well.”
