STEVEN May is expected to miss at least two weeks after injuring his right hamstring against Collingwood on Saturday night.

The Gold Coast co-captain strained the muscle in the first quarter when spoiling an attempted mark by Jamie Elliott.

It's the second time this season May has done a hamstring – although the opposite side to the injury he suffered in round four against Carlton.

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"I don't know the extent of Steven … but I would think it's a minimum of two, or maybe three (weeks) I would think, that's just a guess," coach Rodney Eade said.

May wasn't the only Suns' casualty in the 15-point loss, with midfielder Jarryd Lyons suffering bone bruising to his ankle.

Lyons picked up the knock in the first quarter and bravely battled on, mostly hobbling in the forward line, until half-time when he was rested for good.

Eade said the in-form midfielder's injury was harder to assess, but a worse-case scenario could see Lyons miss the rest of the season.

"Jarryd looks like he's escaped ligament damage, but we'll have to have an MRI scan," Eade said.

"Bone bruising can be tricky, depends how severe it is. Sometimes it can take eight weeks, sometimes they can take two or three weeks, we don't know."

Five talking points: Gold Coast v Collingwood

Despite losing the two players, the Suns were gallant for much of the night, arresting a 27-point deficit early in the second term.

They had the lead at various stages in the second half before being over-run late.

Although loath to use it as an excuse, Eade said the injuries took a toll.

"I can be diplomatic and say it's no excuse, but it has an affect, but whether it gets us over the line or not (I don't know)," he said.

"You miss their talent is one thing, and then the cumulative load it puts on the other guys.

"Towards the end of the third quarter we were fatigued and we made a couple of errors, and I think the last quarter we just couldn't run that last five or six minutes.

"How that equates to scoreboard I don't know, but it certainly has an affect."

WATCH: Rodney Eade's full post-match media conference

Eade was thrilled with his players' intensity, particularly after quarter-time, highlighting a late rundown tackle by first-year player Jack Bowes as a prime example of their commitment.

"Overall, I thought our players were terrific, their courage.

"Our pressure from quarter-time was outstanding. Just a couple of errors here or there cost us dearly at times.

"Full credit to them, they won contested ball, so the weight of numbers in the end as well."