Fremantle set to nurse Matthew Pavlich ahead of return

FREMANTLE is likely to adopt a highly conservative approach to Matthew Pavlich's comeback.

Matthew Pavlich

FREMANTLE is likely to adopt a highly conservative approach to Matthew Pavlich's comeback.

Pavlich could be held back in a calculated plan to reproduce his sublime best as the Dockers chase their first flag.

Fremantle coach Ross Lyon will decide late this week whether Pavlich resumes in Saturday night's blockbuster against premiership contender Geelong at Simonds Stadium.

The Dockers are considering building match conditioning and adopting a minimal risk strategy in the 31-year-old's recovery from achilles surgery in April.

The Freo medicos also want to avoid soft-tissue damage in his legs.

Pavlich resumed full training early last week, but is believed to have only started back into any form of running a fortnight ago.

The veteran was restricted to bike riding and water-based training for longer than anticipated after he had an in-season operation after Fremantle's Round 3 narrow loss to Essendon in Perth.

The Dockers are also calculating when to swing ruckman Aaron Sandilands back into action in a bid to optimise his effect around stoppages without risking further injury.

Having missed significant chunks of the past two seasons with severe toe and foot problems, Sandilands is expected to be carefully nursed through his return.

Pavlich revealed last week he had found it tough sitting on the sidelines for 10 weeks.

"With 11 games to go, you're going to get one run at bringing them back," Lyon said. "So you wouldn't want to make a call that would expose them to soft tissue (injury).

"You wouldn't want a hiccup, even though you deal with it. We're trying to avoid any hiccup from here. We'll be on the conservative side I would think."

But Lyon all but ruled out the pair returning with East Fremantle at WAFL level.

Pavlich and Sandilands look destined for heavy schedules of high-intensity, match-assimilation training ahead of their AFL returns.

"We know anything could happen," Lyon said. "In some respects you take out the risk of injury, a cork or collision because you can get them working really hard and get them up to those levels while lessening the injury list. But there's no substitute for a combative day at the office."