Fremantle are set to be without Nat Fyfe for at least two more weeks - but the Dockers' misfiring midfield is the most pressing concern for coach Justin Longmuir.
Fyfe was a late scratching for Saturday night's one-point loss to North Melbourne due to a plantar fascia injury.
The two-time Brownlow medallist will be given a week's rest before building his fitness back up, with Longmuir expecting Fyfe to return in round five at the earliest.
It continues a frustrating start to the season for Fyfe, who was held goalless from nine disposals in the round-one loss to St Kilda before succumbing to the foot injury.
"He's been carrying a plantar fascia for a while, and it just didn't react to last week's game and it pulled up really sore," Longmuir said.
"He probably needs a bit of a rest. He'll be off legs a little bit to try to maximise a bit of a rest. He probably needs another week just to calm it down.
"It's one of those injuries where every time you walk, it stretches it and makes it sore.
"It is debilitating in that sense. We just need to get on top of it."
Longmuir is confident Fyfe can still have a good crack at this season despite the setback.
"The rest of his body is feeling really good," Longmuir said.
"He's frustrated by this, but he sees it as a little speed hump and if he get this right the rest of his body is holding up really well and he can have a long crack at it."
Fremantle entered this season boasting one of the most talented and exciting midfield units on paper, featuring the likes of Andrew Brayshaw, Caleb Serong, Will Brodie, Jaeger O'Meara, along with ruckmen Sean Darcy and Luke Jackson.
But after losing the clearance battle against both St Kilda (37-28) and North Melbourne (44-31), Longmuir knows there's work to do.
"It's disappointing, because we feel like it's a strength. But it's not a strength until you show it," Longmuir said.
"Before we went on a little run in the last quarter (against North Melbourne), we were minus 10 centre bounce (clearances).
"Good luck trying to own field position with that number. We're better than that, and we've got to start showing that.
"We need to get our hands dirty. It wasn't until the last 10 minutes where we got a sniff and started playing to win.
"We started crashing in, bashing bodies, taking the game on. It needed to come way earlier."
North Melbourne's 2-0 start to the year means they have already equalled the amount of wins they posted in last season's wooden spoon campaign.
Kangaroos coach Alastair Clarkson was happy to see his players are getting rewarded for their hard work, but he's not getting carried away.
"We are under no illusions you know, we could have quite easily been 0-2," he said.
"Both of those games we won by less than a goal. So our percentage is hardly startling at this point in time."
