Gold Coast recruit Daniel Rioli is facing an extended period on the sidelines to start his pre-season after suffering a knee injury at training.
Scans have shown Rioli has sustained an MCL injury and will be monitored over the coming week before a call is made on whether the former Richmond defender will require surgery.
An MCL injury could place the Suns' star recruit out of training for over a month, with the club hopeful Rioli is back running after Christmas.
An uninterrupted recovery should see Rioli available for the club's pre-season matches and Opening Round fixture against Essendon.
Rioli was traded to Gold Coast after requesting a trade north, reuniting with former coach Damien Hardwick at Carrara.
The Suns traded Picks 6 and 23 to Richmond for Rioli and draft selections 51, 61, 70 and 76.
The 27-year-old is coming off a career-best season, having taken out Richmond's best and fairest after averaging 23.3 disposals and 3.96 marks per game from his 23 appearances.
Rioli is one of nine new Gold Coast players to have joined the club ahead of the 2025 season, with Collingwood's John Noble also venturing to Queensland during the trade period while Elliott Himmelberg signed with the Suns as a free agent in October also.
Cooper Bell, Max Knobel, Leonardo Lombard, Lachlan Gulbin, Asher Eastham and Zak Evans have also joined the Suns for Hardwick's second season at the helm.
