BRISBANE recruit Sam Draper will miss the start of the season after scans at the weekend confirmed a stress reaction in his right foot that will sideline him for up to eight weeks.

Draper was wearing a moon boot at Lions training on Monday morning and has been sidelined for 6-8 weeks. He is certain to miss the club's Opening Round clash and could be available for Brisbane's second game, against Sydney in round one.

Lions coach Chris Fagan said that the former Essendon ruckman reported a sore foot before last week's pre-season camp at Maroochydore on the Queensland Sunshine Coast.

"He's had some scans on that and unfortunately he's got a stress reaction in his foot," Fagan told SEN radio on Monday.

"That's going to probably mean that he won't be available for selection until about the second week of the AFL season."

The 27-year-old was recruited from Essendon via free agency during the off-season, effectively as a replacement for premiership hero Oscar McInerney.

He was recovering from a ruptured Achilles tendon suffered last April which limited him to just five games for the season, and was enduring an excellent pre-season before the latest setback.

Draper's absence almost certainly ensures Darcy Fort will line up as the Lions' No.1 ruck against the Western Bulldogs on March 7.

Draper and ex-West Coast coast captain Oscar Allen are the key additions for the Lions as they shoot for three successive premierships.

Allen is expected to be available for their Opening Round match against the Bulldogs.

The tall utility continues to recover from the knee injury that restricted him to 12 games last season.

Lincoln McCarthy and Keidean Coleman are also pushing for Opening Round returns after their seasons last year were ruined by injury.