BRISBANE Lions captain Jonathan Brown will return to pre-season training next week as he continues to overcome the foot problem which prematurely ended his 2013 AFL campaign.
Brown, who missed the last month of the season due to a plantar fascia injury, was forced to sit out the team's final two weeks of pre-season training before Christmas after suffering a setback in his recovery.
But new Lions coach Justin Leppitsch said the veteran forward is fine physically and should be back on the training track by the start of next week.
"Brownie, from this point on, will have modified pre-seasons anyway," he said.
"I don't think it's affected his run into the games.
"He'll be back on the park in the next week or so once we get the running miles into his legs."
Leppitsch says he's made a New Year's resolution not too get too stressed going into his first season as an AFL head coach.
The former Lions centre half-back says the assistance of ex-Hawthorn coach and now Lions director of coaching Peter Schwab is proving crucial to achieving that resolution.
"Schwabie's a star," he said.
"He's been terrific for me, a former coach himself who can help me get through the little challenges and the management challenges of the role.
"He's been invaluable for me."
