GOLD Coast will be without midfielder Jack Bowes for up to four months after he underwent shoulder surgery this week.
Bowes suffered the injury after attempting to tackle Matt Rowell in a training drill.
The 24-year-old is expected to be back somewhere between rounds four and eight of the season.
It's not only a big blow for Bowes, but the Suns, as they plan to integrate the former No.10 draft pick into their midfield in 2022.
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Following the off-season departures of Hugh Greenwood (North Melbourne) and Will Brodie (Fremantle), Bowes had trained all pre-season in the middle of the ground.
It is hoped he can join a midfield mix that already includes Touk Miller, Rowell, Noah Anderson and Brayden Fiorini.
Bowes has played 78 games in five seasons, spending the past few years stationed at half-back, sometimes as the third tall defender.
His injury puts a small dint into a strong pre-season for Gold Coast that continued at its Carrara headquarters on Friday.
In humid conditions interspersed with showers of rain, the Suns completed a three-hour training session that included two 10-minute halves of match simulation.
Rowell was ultra-impressive on-ball, clean with his hands and showing a burst of power he lacked in the second half of 2021 after returning from knee surgery.
Lachie Weller and young wingman Jeremy Sharp also impressed with their run-and-carry, while Ben King kicked three goals.
Last season's best and fairest runner-up Wil Powell was one of a small group of players to miss the match simulation, instead completing a series of 150m reps around the boundary line.
Powell has recently returned from concussion protocols after a pre-Christmas incident and will be back into full contact next week