CARLTON defender Simon White will miss the rest of the season after suffering a neck injury in the VFL.

Scans have confirmed White has a fractured vertebrae in his neck following his outing for the Northern Blues on Saturday. 

White will be forced to wear a neck brace to protect the area for at least the next eight weeks while doctors continue to monitor his progress. 

The brace will stretch from White's neck to his chest region. 

"It's certainly not the news that we were hoping for," football operations manager Andrew McKay told carltonfc.com.au.

"Simon has fractured his C3 vertebrae, meaning he won't play again this season."

Carlton coach Mick Malthouse said White's injury highlighted the importance of rules to limit high contact. 

"I don't want to make it too dramatic," Malthouse said. 

"It is a reinforcement of the rule. It is not a Mickey Mouse rule. It is a rule that is there for the safety of players." 

Malthouse said White was on the ground when contact was made, although the details of how it occurred remained sketchy. 

He said any injury to the neck region was enough to make all football people stop and think. 

"These are the sort of injuries we dread. Simon is semi-lucky," Malthouse said. 

"He'll be right for next year but he won't play again this year, which is a real shame." 

Malthouse said the key defender, who has played 26 matches, would have been in line for a senior recall this week. 

He said White was cementing a spot in the Blues' backline. 

Malthouse said he had spoken to White and the 25-year-old was mainly disappointed that he would not be playing for the rest of the season. 

Malthouse said White would be first given the opportunity to come to grips with the injury and the option of returning home to Western Australia. 

The club would then get him involved with helping the VFL and senior team when he returned. 

"Sometimes we take it for granted that these are strong young men running around that nothing can happen to," Malthouse.   

The Blues are still waiting on the return of key forward Jarrad Waite, who is still trying to overcome bone bruising in his knee.

McKay revealed Waite is still at least two weeks away from playing.

"We need him to train fully and have no pain at all in that knee for him to play," he said.