Fremantle coach Ross Lyon admits the club is still searching for answers to fix Harley Bennell's calf issues, while star midfielder Stephen Hill will miss the start of the AFL season with a setback of his own.
Bennell has been plagued by calf injuries since crossing to Fremantle at the end of 2015.
The 25-year-old suffered another grade one calf strain four weeks ago, but he's still yet to return to full training despite the club initially diagnosing the setback as a three-week injury.
Fremantle took the drastic step of sending Bennell to Germany at the end of 2016 so he could work with renowned soft tissue specialist Hans-Wilhelm Muller-Wohlfahrt.
Bennell played two AFL games at the back-end of last season, but a return date from his latest calf setback is yet to be set.
Lyon said Bennell was running again but the club was still mapping out a way to avoid any more injury setbacks.
"He's just going to have to build up (again) which is obviously disappointing, but it's sort of the trend we're in," Lyon said.
"Between Harley and our medical and our (strength and conditioning team) we've got to find a solution because once we do we know we've got a very good player.
"It's a tough period ... but he's buttoned down pretty well and he needs to continue to button down."
Lyon confirmed Hill (calf) would miss the round one clash with the Power in Adelaide on March 24.
And three-time Hawthorn premiership star Brad Hill (quad) could also miss the match.
Fremantle held their season launch on Tuesday and Lyon declared the club had mapped out a plan to win a premiership.
The Dockers are entering the third year of a full-blown rebuild and Lyon was optimistic about what lay ahead.
"We're aiming strategically to win a premiership and move to be consistently in the finals," Lyon said.
"But you just don't want to jump on the end.
"The real joy comes from what you've seen from Richmond and the Bulldogs - years of toil and a rebuild.
"Eight years for the Tigers, six years for the Bulldogs.
"There's no guarantee, but we're after the fruits of our labour."
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