The Western Bulldogs are concerned about the fitness of Cody Weightman after the forward suffered yet another injury to his left elbow in Saturday night's 24-point loss to Fremantle.
Weightman dislocated his elbow in sickening fashion in 2022, and he dislocated it again during the round-three over West Coast.
Although Weightman was able to play the game out against West Coast and not miss a week, the Bulldogs will have to investigate the issue further after the 23-year-old appeared to dislocate it again in Saturday's 14.11 (95) to 10.11 (71) defeat to Fremantle.
Weightman was in a sling after the match, and he's expected to undergo scans to determine the extent of the latest setback, with surgery a possibility.
"It's that elbow again, so I don't know whether we need to have something done with that," Bulldogs coach Luke Beveridge said.
"Ultimately, we hope he's OK but we will need to have it looked at again and we need to take a long-term approach with him.
"It's not that our staff haven't, it's just that he's such a tough bugger.
"He stays on the ground after these injuries. So it's even a surprise that he couldn't get going as in the past he somehow has found a way."
The Bulldogs were made to pay for their inaccuracy against Fremantle, with their return of 2.7 in the third quarter coming back to bite them.
Sam Darcy stood tall with three goals, while Aaron Naughton chipped in with two despite being well held by Alex Pearce.
Former Docker Rory Lobb appears set for the axe after going goalless from eight disposals.
Beveridge is confident spearhead Jamarra Ugle-Hagan, who has missed the past two weeks after taking personal leave, will be ready to return for next week's clash with Hawthorn.
"He should be available," Beveridge said.
"He trained Saturday morning and trained strongly, so we're hoping that he'll be available for selection and if he's good to go and then he's likely to come into the team."
Midfielder Tom Liberatore, who was a late withdrawal against Fremantle with either food poisoning or gastro, will also return against the Hawks.
