Aaron Hall has added to Gold Coast's growing injury toll for their AFL season opener against North Melbourne.
The top midfielder has undergone surgery after breaking a finger in Sunday's pre-season win over Brisbane.
Hall, who finished fifth in last season's club best and fairest, could return by round two.
But the Suns will already be without Pearce Hanley (shoulder) and Sean Lemmens (hamstring), while Peter Wright (calf) is another potential absentee.
With Gold Coast forced out of their Metricon Stadium home for a few weeks because of the Commonwealth Games, they badly need wins early in the season.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
They will back themselves against North in Cairns, but the injury list is a concern.
Suns half-back Jarrod Harbrow said on Friday their defence must have faith in the work they had done through the off-season under new coach Stuart Dew.
"We've got to be able to trust whoever plays down back will get the job done," he said.
"Hopefully, we'll draw a lot of confidence out of what we've done over the pre-season.
"We'll be right. We've got a lot of trust down there now."
