JAEGER O'Meara will wait another week to make his return after the young midfielder was not named in Gold Coast's NEAFL team to play Southport on Saturday.

O'Meara hasn't played for the Suns since rupturing a patella tendon in a pre-season match last year but has resumed training with the squad.

The 2013 NAB AFL Rising Star was a chance to play this weekend, but his omission from the NEAFL squad makes next week's curtain-raiser against the Brisbane Lions at Metricon Stadium potentially his first game back.

O'Meara can still be added as a late inclusion to play on Saturday, but the Suns have hosed that down as an option.

The 22-year-old last played for the senior team in round 23, 2014 before undergoing patella tendon surgery on both knees in the off-season.

He then ruptured the tendon in his only NEAFL practice match last April.

He has been back in full training with teammates the past fortnight and completed Thursday's main session with a minimum of fuss.

Coach Rodney Eade said on Thursday that when O'Meara does return, expectations had to be tempered.

"He's been out for a long time, so it's just going to take a while to find his feet, feel comfortable at the level," Eade said.

"From our point of view, whenever he plays, there's no expectations the first couple of weeks, it's more about getting through and feeling comfortable with it."