Carlton skipper Marc Murphy is set for a stint on the sidelines after aggravating a plantar fascia injury in his left foot during the club’s pre-game routine against North Melbourne on Saturday night.

The Blues captain was visually disturbed by the injury just minutes before the bounce, talking with club medicos and senior assistant coach John Barker.

Murphy pulled out of the contest five minutes before the bounce and was replaced by midfielder Nick Graham. Patrick Cripps was named the replacement skipper of a Blues side that was crushed by 86 points to the Kangaroos at Blundstone Arena.

A disappointed Murphy was later seen in the Carlton rooms, wearing a moon boot.

Blues coach Brendan Bolton lamented the unexpected loss of his skipper but was unable to put a timeline on the injury.

"He's a competitor, so missing and being the captain would have really frustrated him," Bolton told reporters in the post-game press conference.

While Bolton highlighted the impact of Murphy, he refused to blame it on their heavy loss.

"Significant impact, he's our captain, organises a lot of things and we lost him in the warm-up unfortunately," he said.

"One player can’t be the defining factor in a win or a loss, we'll make no excuses around that.”

Murphy will undergo scans next week to determine the severity of the injury.