MATT Rowell will see his specialist on Thursday afternoon and could miss more time than Gold Coast thought as he battles to overcome a broken finger.

The Brownlow medallist suffered the injury in last month’s State of Origin in Perth, undergoing surgery on February 19.

Initially the Suns were hopeful Rowell would return for the round four match against Melbourne on April 5, but coach Damien Hardwick was less definitive about his star's return when he spoke on Thursday morning.

"Our timeline hasn't changed with that," Hardwick said.

"We will reassess when we get past the bye … then we will make a firmer adjustment about when he’s going to make his way back. 

"With an injury such as that, it depends on healing. 

"We miss him. You can’t replace a Matt Rowell. His toughness around the contest is just something that is irreplaceable."

The setback hasn’t dampened Rowell’s appetite to improve, going into the club on his day off to do as much as he could without compromising the injury.

"There is a reason this guy is one of the best, if not the best player in the AFL,” Hardwick said.

"He does more than anyone else. A lot of people could learn a lot of things, including our players, off him.”

One player the Suns are almost certain to get back to face Richmond on Saturday is powerhouse forward Bailey Humphrey, who missed the weekend’s win over West Coast with a hamstring niggle.

The 21-year-old trained strongly at People First Stadium on Thursday and looks set to resume his place in the team.

"It was a conservative call last week, one that we’re happy we made just to make sure that we didn’t push the envelope and all of a sudden he’s out for two or four weeks,” Hardwick said.

"He trained on Tuesday as well. We think he’ll play.”

Key defender Charlie Ballard has played two VFL practice matches after recovering from a ruptured ACL and is available to for selection.