The Western Bulldogs have come away with a pair of concussion concerns from their 49-point win over Fremantle, while back surgery will leave Dockers forward Matt Taberner out of action for an extended period.
Fremantle confirmed prior to Friday night's clash against the Dogs that Taberner has undergone microdiscectomy surgery to fix a back issue that has recently troubled the 29-year-old.
Taberner suffered pain in his back after the side's loss to Adelaide in Round 4, with the club revealing a "disc issue" was found shortly after.
This week the club revealed Taberner has been forced to go under the knife, with the extent of his rehabilitation likely to force the forward away from a return until the back half of season.
"It's disappointing news for Matt, but he's approaching the situation in a positive frame of mind," Fremantle football boss Peter Bell said.
"Matt and the Club took specialist advice that this was the best option.
"It's difficult to put a timeframe on Taberner's return to train and play as it varies from person to person."
Meanwhile, the Bulldogs will be without senior midfielder Tom Liberatore due to concussion following an incident late into Friday's win over the Dockers.
Liberatore sustained a head knock in the final quarter of the game, with the club not putting either player through concussion testing due to the match nearing its conclusion.
The Dogs have since confirmed Liberatore will miss next week's bout with Hawthorn as he is required to undergo the AFL's 12-day concussion protocols period.
"Tom Liberatore will miss next week's clash with Hawthorn after entering concussion protocols last night. Liberatore will be assessed over the next fortnight before returning to availability," a club post reads.ย
Senior coach Luke Beveridge confirmed after the game that the club will need to assess both Jason Johannisen in the coming days to detect whether he too suffered a concussion late into the game.
The Bulldogs are scheduled to face Hawthorn next Saturday at Marvel Stadium for what will be captain Marcus Bontempelli's 200th game for the club.
