Jones suffered a fractured radius in the opening stages of Sunday's win over North Melbourne when he received an accidental kick from Kangaroo Paul Curtis while trying to gather a loose ball.
The 32-year-old had been in stellar form and crucial to the seventh-placed Bulldogs' undermanned defence, with his absence a major blow to their finals hopes.
"Liam received a kick to his forearm - this trauma has caused two separate breaks in the radius bone," Bulldogs' sports medicine boss Chris Bell said.
"He had surgery yesterday to insert a large plate along his forearm to stabilise both fractures.
"We will confirm his return to play timeline over the coming weeks, but expect him to miss the next eight to 10 games."
Jones' absence has been compounded by serious hamstring injuries to fellow backs Tim O'Brien and Hayden Crozier, who will miss up to nine and 10 games respectively.
Dashing flanker Jason Johannisen (hamstring) is still four or five weeks away, while fellow hamstrung defender Ed Richards won't return for at least three weeks.
The seventh-placed Bulldogs have the bye then nine games ahead of finals, with Jones unlikely to return until late in the home-and-away season at best.
Jones was at Carlton when he retired in November 2021 because of the AFL's COVID-19 vaccination policy.
He missed last season but came out of retirement to join the Bulldogs when the league's policy was relaxed.
He has slotted into the Bulldogs' defence seamlessly, pulling off shutdown roles while remaining a dangerous interceptor.
"It is time for All-Australian nominations at the moment ... Liam is having an incredible year. He is starting to get the recognition he deserves," coach Luke Beveridge said earlier this month.
"In the past we haven't had a dominant key back.
"To have a player making the impression on the game that Jonesy has been having has been really important for us. It was what we hoped for and more."
Young gun Sam Darcy could return after the bye and face Fremantle on July 1.