Becoming an AFL veteran has been a rough ride for dual Brownlow Medallist Nat Fyfe.
In the last four seasons, the 33-year-old has only managed 10-plus games once across the campaign as he battles consistent injuries.
Fyfe has only recently returned to Fremantle's senior team after fighting fitness issues all year, playing in the last three matches either as the sub or the 'subbed' out.
However, eyebrows were raised when Fyfe was an unused sub during the Dockers' 12-point win against St Kilda on Sunday night.
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It emerged in Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir's press conference that Fyfe experienced calf tightness during a half-time warm-up, with the Dockers choosing not to bring him on despite the game being up for grabs.
“(I’m) not sure whether we could have put him on if we had an injury, but since we didn’t have an injury and didn’t have any players really flagging, the safe option was to just leave him out of the game,” Longmuir said.
“It’s a bit of a concern, of course. But we’ll see how he pulls up tomorrow, get it scanned if we need to, and see where it takes us.
“But from what I understand, it’s pretty minor and we didn’t have to bring him on.”
Fyfe's AFL career appears to be under threat amid his injury issues, with his current contract expiring at the end of the season.
It appears unlikely Fyfe will be fit to play in the Dockers' next match against Sydney at the SCG on Sunday.