Carlton big man Sam Rowe suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury in his side's 35-point loss to Fremantle in Sunday's AFL clash at Domain Stadium.
The Blues raced out to a 28-0 lead in heavy rain, but Fremantle booted 10 of the next 12 goals to set up the 13.8 (86) to 7.9 (51) win.
The result saw Fremantle (6-3) surge into fifth spot ahead of next Saturday's crunch clash with the Crows in Adelaide.
Rowe hobbled off early in the first quarter after hyper-extending his right knee when Fremantle skipper Nat Fyfe dived across him in an attempted smother.
Rowe received strapping to his knee during a lengthy stint on the sidelines.
But his return to the field was short-lived, with Rowe collapsing in pain after his right knee buckled as he leaned against his opponent.
The Blues were reduced to just two fit men on the bench before half-time when Dale Thomas was ruled out with blurred vision after copping a hip to the head from teammate Alex Silvagni.
Fremantle forward Michael Walters broke the game open with three goals in the third quarter, while Lachie Neale (37 disposals), David Mundy, Hayden Crozier (three goals), and Connor Blakely were also influential in the win.
The ease of Fremantle's win was surprising given how badly they struggled in the first quarter.
Carlton was winning the inside-50m battle 12-0 after just 17 minutes.
The Blues missed a series of set shots, but they were able to nail the miraculous goals in a dominant first quarter.
Thomas unleashed a finger-twirl celebration when he slotted a checkside from the boundary line, and skipper Marc Murphy somehow split the middle from a tight angle while being slung in a tackle.
But it was all Fremantle from that point as the Dockers' stars got into their groove, and Carlton's run dried up.
Neale racked up a glut of possessions through the midfield, while Walters tore the game apart with an inspired third quarter.
Walters' second goal summed up Fremantle's fighting work ethic.
The veteran earned a free kick by running down defender Lachie Plowman. And quick as a flash Walters jumped up and played on to kick truly from 45m.
And his third goal - a long-range dribbler - sent the 30,313 crowd into raptures.