WESTERN Bulldogs defender Dale Morris will have minor surgery to repair meniscus damage in the knee he partially tore in the pre-season.
The 35-year-old will undergo an arthroscope procedure after developing pain over recent weeks, and with the club unable to predict a return date, the club great may have played his last game for the Dogs.
Morris experienced medial ligament discomfort in his first game of the season in the VFL three weeks ago, before resuming at senior level for the round 11 clash loss to Melbourne.
The veteran has had a torrid run with injuries over the past 18 months, with a broken arm and leg limiting him to just 12 games since the club's 2016 premiership triumph.
"Dale has been dealing with some soreness in his knee, which he has been managing for the last couple of weeks and is unrelated to the ACL injury," club medical services manager Chris Bell said.
"We're not expecting him to be unavailable for an extended period, but we won't have an exact time frame for his recovery until after the surgery."
In better news for the Dogs, coach Luke Beveridge should have important defenders Zaine Cordy (concussion) and Aaron Naughton (ankle) available as replacements for Morris for Thursday night's clash with Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval.