Greater Western Sydney coach Leon Cameron has dismissed speculation Brett Deledio will be sidelined for the first two months of the AFL season.
However, the coach did admit he doesn't really know when his star recruit will shake off a calf injury to make his debut for the Giants.
Deledio struggled with calf injuries in his final two seasons at Richmond and the issue has followed him to his new home.
The 29-year-old suffered the initial injury in February and has suffered a setback since, leading to speculation he would be missing for around eight weeks.
"I just heard that rumour," Cameron replied, when asked about the speculation on Fox Footy.
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"Brett's got a minor strain in his calf and in terms of the timeline we haven't actually set one yet so I don't know how they've actually been set by someone else.
"We are going to be extra cautious on it. It is really minor but because of his history we'd be silly to rush it.
"I can't comment and say that it's going to be three weeks if it turns out to be two, or four weeks if it turns out to be five. We're working through that at the moment.
"It's really hard to say what the exact timeline is ... but he could play in the ealry parts (of the season).
"He could play in round three or four - it all depends on whether or not we have another setback in his rehab."
Deledio's absence isn't the only issue for Cameron to contend with ahead of the Giants' season-opener against the Crows at Adelaide Oval.
Vice-captain Stephen Coniglio (ankle) and key defender Aidan Corr (hand) sustained injuries in the club's final pre-season game.
"Every club has their fingers crossed that they don't lose players in that last match," Cameron said.
"To have Stephen out for possibly six weeks is not ideal and Aidan could be four or five weeks as well.
"Those guys, no doubt, would have been playing in round one."
