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GOLD Coast is confident injured captain Gary Ablett will re-sign within the next few weeks.
Ablett's initial five-year deal at the Suns expires at the end of 2015, but Gold Coast general manager of football operations Marcus Ashcroft said negotiations were progressing well on an extension.
"Every indication he has given us, and his manager Liam Pickering, is that it will be done sooner rather than later," Ashcroft told Melbourne radio station SEN.
"We're not overly concerned. We're hopeful it will happen in the next couple of weeks."
While not committing to a contract length, Ashcroft said it would be in the range of two to three years.
Ablett turns 31 in May and is now on the sidelines for an indefinite period after suffering further problems to the left shoulder he had reconstructed last year. Ablett lasted just two matches after missing the NAB Challenge, but Ashcroft said the Suns skipper was 100 per cent ready to take on Melbourne in the opening round.
"Clearly after round one and round two, he came in for some physical attention and it just became less moveable over the last two weeks," Ashcroft said.
"There's no point putting him out there at 60 or 70 per cent, we need Gary being able to play at his best every week."
Meanwhile, coach Rodney Eade put a timeline on Ablett's return from his shoulder troubles on Tuesday night, saying the club was hopeful he would be back in the next two to three weeks.
Eade ruled out the possibility of further surgery and said Ablett's shoulder had no structural problems.
"It's just inflammation," Eade told Fox Footy. "We're hopeful it's two to three weeks but it might be four.
"The knocks he took (in round one) just stirred up some muscles around it and some inflammation came on, the same in the second thing.
"I think it's just a matter of settling that down, getting a bit more strength into it, and hopefully he'll be fine from there."
Eade said Ablett was not completely against taking anti-inflammatory medications and had taken them after having scar tissue removed in January.
