Gold Coast midfielder David Swallow is not expected to return from a knee injury until next month at the earliest, although the news is better for the experienced Jarrod Harbrow.
Swallow strained his posterior cruciate ligament in the club's Round 7 loss against fellow expansion team Greater Western Sydney.
The 19-year-old averaged 21 disposals in his seven matches for the club this season and has been sorely missed during his absence.
And that looks likely to continue, with initial hopes of a return for the Round 14 clash against West Coast diminished after comments from the club's football operations manager, Marcus Ashcroft.
"He's just started to move around and do a bit of running and strengthening work," Ashcroft said.
"When he first did it, it was always around the eight-10 week call, so he's still on track. I think everyone thought we had the bye mid-year and he'd be right after that, but it's still a similar timeframe to what was initially diagnosed."
Swallow is likely to return between Round 15 and 17.
Defender Harbrow is not far away from a return though, and will play in the club's next match - against West Coast on June 30 - if he gets the all-clear from the club's surgeon on Friday.
Harbrow has played just four times this season after fracturing his elbow in Round 4 against the Brisbane Lions.
"He was able to run and keep his body conditioned, it's more the strength in his arm and contact on his arm once you get into a match simulated scenario, so that's been the concern with him," Ashcroft said.
"The last week he's been integrating with training but we've still been mindful of contact with his elbow so we haven't done too much, we're more waiting for the surgeon's OK on Friday.
"If he gets the all-clear he's available for selection and it's a match committee call on whether he plays seniors or reserves."