Fremantle will sweat on the latest flare-up of Nat Fyfe's troublesome foot after the former skipper was substituted out of their loss to the Western Bulldogs.
Fyfe struggled his way through three quarters of Saturday's game at Marvel Stadium, going goalless from 12 disposals before making way for Neil Erasmus.
The dual Brownlow Medallist lacked penetration in his kicking and coach Justin Longmuir confirmed Fyfe felt soreness from the foot with plantar fasciitis that sidelined him from rounds two through to seven.
"His foot's gotten sore," Longmuir told reporters after Saturday's 29-point loss.
"So same foot he's had issues with this year and it was sore.
"We had fresh legs (and an) opportunity to get him in."
Longmuir was uncertain whether the latest setback would force Fyfe to miss next week's clash with Carlton, or anything beyond that.
"It's too early to tell. We'll see how it pulls up," he said.
"He'd be disappointed, having been subbed out and it flaring up again.
"We'll get him home and assess it further and see what it means."
Longmuir conceded the 31-year-old had been managing the foot injury despite his return to action, but it had only properly been an issue on Saturday.
"It's funny with plantar fasciitis, they never really go away until you get an extended period of time off," he said.
"Yeah, he's had some awareness there, but it just got a bit sorer than usual, so he felt like he couldn't go anymore."
Fyfe has had a tough run with injuries in recent years, limited to 14 games in 2020, 15 in 2021, seven last year and nine of a possible 15 this season.
He re-signed until the end of the 2025 season last month.
The Dockers sit outside the eight on 7-8 after the Bulldogs blew them away in the final quarter.
