Gold Coast expect big man Sam Day's 2017 to be limited to a handful of games at the end of the AFL season after dislocating his hip.
Day suffered the sickening injury in the first quarter of Suns' pre-season win over Brisbane on Sunday, requiring on-field pain relief medication as he was stretchered off.
Complicating the dislocation, the 24-year-old also suffered a bone break in the incident where he appeared to hyper-extend his leg as he ran to a contest after his foot became caught in the turf.
"It's a once in a lifetime injury, I think in footy circles anyway," Suns football operations boss Marcus Ashcroft told SEN radio on Monday.
"Sam does have a fractured hip dislocation. His hip did dislocate, it took a bit of bone with it.
"So it is fairly significant. He gets surgery later today.
"More than likely, we miss him for the majority of the year."
The injury added a sour note to the 11.15 (81) to 1.7.6 (57) victory for Rodney Eades' side at Kombumerri Park on the Gold Coast.
It's unclear whether the surface was a factor in the non-contact injury.
Forming a potent forward combination with star Sun Tom Lynch, the 197cm-Day kicked 14 goals in 20 games last year.
Ashcroft said Monday's surgery would be exploratory, given the rarity of Day's injury.
"We can't - even our medical team - can't remember a time when someone's done something as significant as this," Ashcroft said.
"It's more like a car accident injury.
"The surgery today is going to be more of an exploratory nature where they can check to see the exact extent of the damage.
"We know at this stage, some bone has been damaged and taken away."
Ashcroft's assessment of the injury rings true, with Newcastle NRL forward Pauli Pauli suffering a dislocated hip in a car crash in January and requiring approximately 3-4 months to recover.
Day's absence continues a painful few years for the Suns on the injury front, with stars Gary Ablett, David Swallow and the departed Jaeger O'Meara missing significant amounts of football.
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