Fremantle has revealed the results of scans performed on injured star Nat Fyfe, who was substituted out of the Dockers' Round 16 loss to the Western Bulldogs.
The injury Fyfe succumbed to on Saturday, in the same foot he suffered plantar fasciitis, has been announced as a stress fracture.
Fyfe's latest ailment means he'll spend a stint on the sidelines and undergo a 'de-load' period, according to Fremantle high-performance boss Phil Merriman.
"We subbed Nat out of the game on the weekend, we have since had some scans done on that foot," Merriman told FremantleFC.com.au on Monday.
"Unfortunately, Nat has sustained a stress fracture. It's the same foot he has been dealing with all year.
"We have now put him in a boot, so he is going into a period of de-load."
Merriman and the Dockers remain hopeful the 31-year-old will play again this season.
"We are going to see how his foot is after this period of de-load and we are hopeful that we will see him again this season."
The Dockers also stated that defender Heath Chapman was excluded from Saturday's bout with the Bulldogs due to a "no-risk approach given Heath's history" with soft-tissue ailments, with the young stopper "unavailable this week" as a result.
Fremantle is scheduled to play Carlton at Optus Stadium this Sunday.