WESTERN Bulldogs defender Brett Goodes will miss up to two months with a broken arm.

The 31-year-old sustained the injury after his right arm collided with an opponent's leg as he attempted collect a ground ball in the Bulldogs' 39-point loss to Melbourne.

The extended layoff comes at a bad time for the mature-aged rookie as he was looking to re-establish himself in the Dogs' line-up following his axing from the senior list last year.

“It was a disappointing afternoon for Brett, he’s got a fracture to his right ulna,” said Western Bulldogs Football Manager Graham Lowe.

“Surgical intervention will be required and he’s going to get that done over the next couple of days.

“We expect him back in six to eight weeks.”

It was a dirty day for Goodes as he was also offered a two-match ban by the Match Review Panel for rough conduct on Melbourne's Matt Jones, but the penalty can be reduced to one week with an early guilty plea.