CARLTON spearhead Brenda Fevola is not a certain starter for the Blues' upcoming trip to Perth after having surgery on his little finger on Saturday.

Fevola, 28, was operated on the day after the Blues' 69-point loss to Essendon after injuring ligaments in the finger on his left hand.

A decision on whether the goalkicker will make the trip west to meet Fremantle on Sunday at Subiaco will be made later in the week.

"Brendan had minor surgery on Saturday to repair ligament damage in his little finger," Carlton's general manager football operations Steven Icke told carltonfc.com.au.

"We are hopeful that Brendan will train later in the week and be available for selection."

Defender Paul Bower will miss at least a fortnight and possibly a month after scans on his injured knee revealed a medial ligament strain.

However, experienced backman Bret Thornton is available after missing the past two games with a hamstring strain.