WESTERN BULLDOGS veteran Dale Morris has avoided surgery on a fractured jaw and is a chance to face Gold Coast in Cairns on Saturday.

The 32-year-old, who is just two matches shy of his 200th game, was expected to spend several weeks on the sidelines after sustaining the injury early in the 11-point win over Carlton.

"What we've discovered since is that he has a slight fracture to his jaw bone," said Bulldogs football manager Graham Lowe.

"On a positive note, there's no surgical intervention required, but we're certainly going to monitor and assess how he travels during the week."

And the news is also good for vice-captain Jordan Roughead, with the ruckman pulling up better than expected from a back injury that needed the 24-year-old to be subbed out at half-time against the Blues.

"Jordan had a jarring incident landing from a jump, it created some quite significant back spasm," Lowe said.

"He's come in well this week, our plan is to monitor him, prepare him from a training perspective, and give him every opportunity to play."

But a back complaint will keep Mitch Honeychurch out for at least two weeks after the round two NAB AFL Rising Star nominee suffered spasms and bruising.

The news is far worse for draftee Toby McLean, with the crafty forward requiring surgery on his left AC joint.

The 19-year-old injured his shoulder in the final minutes of Saturday night's clash and is expected to miss at least the next six weeks.

The Bulldogs also sustained an injury in the VFL with midfielder Nathan Hrovat expected to miss one or two weeks with a minor hamstring strain.