Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir is backing Rory Lobb to play through the pain of a "busted" shoulder for the rest of the AFL season.
Lobb first injured his right shoulder in the round 16 loss to Sydney, and he suffered another setback in the third quarter of Saturday night's 24-point win over West Coast.
The 29-year-old played on through the injury despite clearly protecting his right shoulder at times, and he was eventually subbed out in the dying minutes of the match when the result was already secured.
Longmuir is confident Lobb will be fit for next Saturday's clash with GWS in Canberra,
"He's sore. But we don't think it's too significant," Longmuir said.
"He's busted his shoulder. He's been carrying it for three weeks.
"It was a specific incident tonight where it was a marking contest and he was extended. He got his arm wrenched I suppose, which aggravated it.
"I'm proud of his efforts after he got injured to halve some contests and remain in the game and keep working his way through it."
With Matt Taberner still nursing a calf injury, Lobb's presence up forward is imperative.
Although Lobb was held goalless from just seven disposals against West Coast, a week earlier he was the four-goal match-winner against the Western Bulldogs.
Longmuir is optimistic that Lobb will be able to play through the pain.
"He's pretty good at it to be honest," Longmuir said.
"He doesn't let on when he brings injuries into games and he pushes through it really well.
"But when we saw him carrying that arm a bit we just thought it was best to get him out of there."
Skipper Nat Fyfe is on track to return against the Giants after spending the past three weeks recovering from a hamstring injury.
Longmuir was full of praise for ruckman Sean Darcy, who won the Glendinning-Allan medal as best afield for his 16-disposal, 57-hitout display against West Coast.
"He was massive," Longmuir said.
"I think he's starting to get a bit of his marking back. He looks really confident in aerial contests again, backing himself, and getting around the ground well.
"He's been up and about for a few weeks now. When he plays his best footy, he's aggressive."
The win against West Coast secured Fremantle a home final, and they can finish in the top four if they beat GWS and other results go their way.
