SPEEDY Fremantle star Bradley Hill will miss Saturday's 'away' clash with a rejuvenated Gold Coast at Optus Stadium after succumbing to a knee injury.

Meanwhile, young key forward Hugh Dixon's promising start at Peel will be halted indefinitely by a high ankle sprain.

Hill, who battled a quad strain in the lead-up to round one, was in obvious pain after being caught in an awkward position during a tackle late in the Dockers' 16-point victory over Essendon.

The reigning Doig medallist managed to jog from the ground and returned soon after but, despite being confident of facing the Suns, Hill has been ruled out for at least a week.

"It's being investigated and at this stage, he'll be having this week off but we have good hopes for him returning quickly," high performance manager Jason Weber told fremantlefc.com.au.

Hill's injury could open the door for Darcy Tucker to return after he responded strongly to his axing by collecting 28 touches for WAFL aligned club Peel.

While the Thunder started their bid for a third-straight flag with a hard-fought victory over East Fremantle, the triumph came at a cost with Dixon's injury.

The strong-marking Tasmanian product, who recently booted six goals in a practice match, doesn't have a timeframe on his return.

"Hugh had a nasty incident, a high ankle sprain and quite significant," Weber said.

"At this stage, we're continuing medical investigations but we're hopeful that there'll be no surgery required and we look forward to seeing him back in rehab very soon."

Injury-plagued Harley Bennell (calf) and young tall defender Griffin Logue (foot) also don't have return dates.

Logue is aiming to start running again this week after resting a congenital issue with a metatarsal.

If the 19-year-old requires surgery, he could miss up to three months.

Meanwhile, the Dockers hope productive midfielder Tom North (ankle) and backman Cam Sutcliffe (concussion) will be available this weekend.

"Tom North sprained his ankle before the game on the weekend but he should be right to go," Weber said.

"Cam's still being investigated for concussion and we'll see how he backs up later in the week."

Veteran defender Lee Spurr and speedster Stefan Giro have both started running again, but remain two-to-four weeks away with knee issues.