JAEGER O'Meara has undergone the first of two bouts of knee surgery that could keep him out of round one next season.
O'Meara is currently in London and awaiting his second knee operation after the first piece of surgery was completed last night (Australian time).
The Suns are confident the 20-year-old midfielder will be right for the start of the season, but will be taking no risks with such a prized possession.
"We're optimistic he'll be right for round one and we're even more confident knowing the way Jaeger goes about his rehab, recovery and the way he looks after himself," general manager of football Marcus Ashcroft told AFL.com.au.
"We're expecting him to be available to play, but we've taken a long-term view to look after him over multiple years, so we're not going to rush him back for round one if he's not quite right."
O'Meara carried chronic patella tendinitis in both knees for most of the 2014 season, but still played every game and averaged 21.5 disposals and 6.5 tackles.
He will undergo surgery on the second knee on Thursday before returning to Australia at the weekend to commence rehabilitation.
O'Meara is seeing the same surgeon Geelong's Steven Motlop and St Kilda's Tom Hickey have seen in the past 12 months.
Ashcroft said O'Meara did a remarkable job to play out the entire 2014 campaign.
"It just shows how tough he is, and he finished top five in our club champion and was a significant contributor," Ashcroft said.
"He can tolerate a lot of pain.
"We've taken the approach that it's more about his long-term welfare. We hope he's a one-club player and plays with us his whole career, so our interest is in his long-term wellbeing."
