PORT Adelaide midfielder Ollie Wines has had surgery to repair his right shoulder and is in serious doubt for the start of the premiership season.
The 24-year-old captaincy contender dislocated his right shoulder in a water skiing accident at Mannum last Saturday.
Wines had an arthroscope on Tuesday morning.
General manager of football Chris Davies said the typical recovery period for the surgery was between eight to 10 weeks, but he was optimistic Wines could return sooner.
FULL FIXTURE Every round, every game
An eight-week recovery would leave Wines touch and go for the Power's round one encounter with Melbourne at the MCG on March 23.
"We'll take the next couple of weeks to let Ollie recuperate then we'll make some decisions on when he comes back from there," Davies said.
"He's had a history of being able to push through pain in his rehab and his body responds well.
"We're hopeful he'll be back reasonably early in the season."
Davies said it was the best outcome as Wines avoided having to have a shoulder reconstruction.
"He's had an arthroscopy to stabilise the joint, there's a couple of staples in there," he said.
"It's probably the best outcome we could've hoped for based on the fact he dislocated his shoulder.
"The typical reconstruction would have a person out for four plus months – we don't expect that to be the case."
An experienced wakeboarder and water-skier from the age of six, this was the first injury Wines had sustained in the sport.
"The rope got away from him a bit and pulled his arm and he's dislocated his shoulder from there," Davies said.
"There were a few of our lads (Power players) that were there so they were on to it straight away.
"He was fortunate to be seen at a hospital at Mannum pretty quickly and the guys were able to get it back in in a relatively routine-type fashion."
WHO MAKES FINALS? Do the 2019 Ladder Predictor
Wines was able to run at the Power's training session at Alberton Oval on Monday morning and went in for scans on Tuesday.
"It was an unfortunate incident and hopefully I can get it repaired pretty quick," Wines told Channel Ten.
Wines is known for his crash-and-bash style, which could mean the Power's medical staff take extra care in his rehab.
"The medical team are pretty capable and they will go about their rehab as they see fit," Davies said.
"The type of player Ollie is, we want to make sure he is right to go when he comes back.
"The last thing we want is recurring injuries."
