Scans have revealed that Nat Fyfe has sustained a stress fracture in his left foot, according to High Performance Manager Phil Merriman.

Fyfe was playing in his eighth straight game after missing rounds two to seven of this season with a plantar fasciitis injury on the same foot.

The midfielder / forward had 12 disposals in the opening three terms against the Western Bulldogs on Saturday before he was substituted for Neil Erasmus.

Merriman said Fyfe had now entered a ‘de-load period’ and that the Club remained hopeful that the 31-year-old would feature again later in the season.

“We subbed Nat out of the game on the weekend, we have since had some scans done on that foot,” 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.”

Fremantle has taken a no-risk approach with Heath Chapman’s hamstring, after the defender reported tightness in the opposite leg to his previous calf and hamstring injuries this season.

“Heath completed the main training session last week,” Merriman said.

“After the session he reported a little bit of hamstring tightness in his other leg.

“We decided to take a no-risk approach given Heath’s history so he will be unavailable this week.”

Meanwhile, forward Tom Emmett has entered the AFL’s concussion protocols after sustaining a knock to the head during main training last week.

“Tom got a hit on the head during main training last week,” Merriman said.

“He is progressing well already through the protocols, so he won’t play this week but we’re hoping to see him the following week.”

ROUND 17 INJURY LIST:
Tom Emmett (concussion) – 1 week
Heath Chapman (hamstring) – 1-2 weeks
Nat Fyfe (foot) – TBA
Matt Taberner (back) - TBA