JACK Martin is in line to make a shock return for Gold Coast against Geelong on Saturday.
Martin has not played since injuring his shoulder in round one against Richmond.
The prodigiously talented first-year player is waiting a final tick-off from his surgeon and must get through Wednesday's main training session to be considered.
He is likely to go straight back into the senior team without a reserves match following a strong month of contact training.
Martin, 19, is super fit after doing a mountain of work in his rehabilitation.
Gold Coast has shown this season it is not scared of putting players straight back into the senior team after long injury lay-offs.
Ruckman Zac Smith was rushed back in to play St Kilda in round nine after 12 months out and starred straight away.
Suns general manager of football operations Marcus Ashcroft said Martin was even more advanced than Smith.
"We're confident with our rehab players that when they come back they can play a full game of AFL, and I think if you compare Jack with Zac, Jack's done a lot more work than Zac had," Ashcroft said.
"We'd be confident he can get through and play at the level, it's just a matter of … is it a risk we take with him or not?"
Gold Coast is coming off three straight losses and clinging to its spot in the top eight.
Chasing a maiden finals berth, the Suns are about to embark on a crucial three weeks, facing Geelong, Hawthorn and Collingwood.
Ashcroft admitted Martin was clearly in their best 22 when fully fit and had been "impressive" in his training.
"He's trained well and done everything he can do, but we also know training and a game are two completely different things," Ashcroft said.
"We'd all love to have seen him play and we haven't.
"We all think highly of him based on what he's done in the pre-season and what he did last year, but we have to weigh things up … and we need to make sure we give him the chance to succeed and not fail."
Twitter: @AFL_mikewhiting
