Returning to the side last week after missing three weeks with a hamstring injury, Waite suffered what coach Brett Ratten described as groin tightness and was substituted out of the match at the 25-minute mark of the second quarter.
With Collingwood looming, Waite's fitness will be closely monitored during the week before the blockbuster clash against their arch-rivals next Saturday afternoon at the MCG.
"It was one the doctor couldn't put his finger on. We didn't want to keep going and do some serious damage," Ratten said after the game."We're not sure exactly (of the extent of the injury). He could play next week but I've got no idea at this point."
Admitting Waite had a restricted week on the training track, Ratten defended the decision to play the key forward against the Bulldogs.
"He was a bit tight and he didn't really train all week, so that put him under a bit of a cloud. But we got the tick from the medicos and everyone that he was right," he said.
"They are the risks you take sometimes going into games."
Waite's absence left a massive void in the Blues forward-line, with Carlton's leading goalkicker Andrew Walker also suffering the ill-effects of food poisoning and managing just one major as his side struggled to find any avenues forward.
With Waite possibly missing the Blues clash with the Pies, Ratten said he would look to tinker with the Blues forward-line, with Bret Thornton and Paul Bower spending some time forward during the loss to the Bulldogs.
"With Waite going down, we didn't have a forward line that really functioned for the majority of the day," he said.
"I thought Thornton did a pretty good job going the other way, so we will throw that up at match committee. But we probably haven't got a lot of options. "We will have to swing the team around a bit and against Collingwood it will be a great test for those blokes down there."
The Blues are expected to regain Andrew Carrazzo, who was a late withdrawal with a calf injury.
The Carlton coach also hinted the Blues may have to review their game-plan at Etihad Stadium after losses to West Coast and the Bulldogs at the ground in the previous three weeks.
"That is something we might have to look at too. Is it something to do with the ground, how are we using the ball We will dive a bit deeper into that in the review," he said.
"They outran us today. Their ball-use and the way they ran both ways hurt us a bit today."
With Ratten praising his team's response to the recent loss to West Coast with a comprehensive 103-point demolition of the Tigers last week, the Carlton coach is hoping for more of the same against the all-conquering Magpies.
"Every game that we play now there are four points on the line. Back to the MCG against our arch-enemy, we responded last time after West Coast and it's something the group has done extremely well to bounce back," he said.
"What a great occasion to do it."
