LACHIE Plowman's first pre-season at Carlton is off to a bad start, with the defender set to be sidelined for up to 10 weeks after undergoing hip surgery.

Carlton announced on Thursday that Plowman had a minor operation this week after experiencing ongoing discomfort since resuming pre-season training last month.

The former Giant is expected to resume light training duties in two weeks and full training in eight to 10 weeks.

Plowman, 21, joined Carlton as part of the trade in which the Blues also netted fellow Giants Andrew Phillips, Jed Lamb and Liam Sumner amid a flurry of draft pick exchanges.

The defender played 20 games with Greater Western Sydney after being taken with the No.3 pick in the 2012 NAB AFL Draft, when Carlton list manager Stephen Silvagni headed up the Giants' recruitment team.