FREMANTLE star Kiara Bowers will have to wait a little longer to make her NAB AFL Women's debut after being ruled out of the early rounds of the upcoming season.

Bowers sat out the entire inaugural AFLW campaign after rupturing her ACL in the WAWFL Grand Final in 2016, and was sorely missed as the Dockers finished second-last with one win and a draw. 

The talented midfielder is still on the comeback trail from her knee injury, but Freo hopes she will be available towards the back end of this season.

"Kiara has been working extremely hard this pre-season but unfortunately won’t be ready for the first few rounds," team manager Wade Spilcker said.

"After consultation with club doctors and her surgeon Kiara requires additional time to regain full fitness before returning to play. 

"Kiara is doing everything possible to get back to playing footy and she continues to work with our strength and conditioning staff to make that happen."

While it is unclear exactly how long Bowers will be sidelined, she appears likely to at least miss Fremantle's season opener against the Bulldogs and the historic first home game at Optus Stadium against Collingwood in round two on February 10.