The Suns' captain had shoulder surgery three weeks ago after dislocating it against Collingwood, and drew some criticism for not being at Saturday night's loss against the Brisbane Lions.
But coach Guy McKenna explained on Tuesday morning Ablett had texted him earlier on Saturday saying his shoulder was "throbbing".
McKenna advised him to stay home and rest it up.
But for the rest of the season, Ablett will take a greater off-field role.
"He's going to take an active part in, almost, match committee," McKenna said.
"He's going to do mids and sit in the coaches box, give (midfield coach) Matty Primus an extra set of eyes.
"It's something he came to me about, so he wanted to do that and he just didn't feel right on the weekend.
"He'll be joining us in the box for the rest of the year, which I feel is really exciting for us."
Ablett has resumed training on a stationary bike and is expected to be fully fit for pre-season, starting in November.
Twitter: @AFL_mikewhiting
