FREMANTLE is hopeful dual Brownlow medallist Nat Fyfe will play again this season after scans revealed a stress fracture in the left foot that troubled him all year.

Fyfe was substituted out of Saturday's loss to the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium after experiencing soreness in the foot that has been plagued by plantar fasciitis. 

The 31-year-old, who recently signed a two-year contract extension, is now in a moonboot and will ease the load on his foot, with the Dockers not putting a timeline on his return.  

"We subbed Nat out of the game on the weekend, we have since had some scans done on that foot," high performance manager Phil Merriman said.

"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.

"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The significant setback continues a frustrating run for Fyfe, who was withdrawn late against North Melbourne in round two and initially hoped to miss only two matches. 

The three-time All-Australian did not return until round eight and was eased back into action as the substitute before building his midfield minutes and having an increasing impact at stoppages. 

Fyfe has now played 16 games across the past two seasons, with shoulder, back and hamstring injuries restricting him to just seven last season in a difficult campaign for the Fremantle star. 

He handed the captaincy on to defender Alex Pearce ahead of 2023 and turned his focus to what shaped as a permanent forward role this year. 

Despite overtures from rival clubs during the off-season, the 218-game midfielder committed to the Dockers until the end of 2025, declaring he was never going to play anywhere else.