Gold Coast don't hold any long-term fears for Ben King despite the star spearhead being ruled out for a second straight game with a swollen knee.
King, who was rested for last week's 24-point loss to Sydney, was named to return for Saturday's clash with red-hot Carlton at Heritage Bank Stadium.
But the 23-year-old was withdrawn on Friday morning after experiencing more pain in his knee.
He has been replaced by Mabior Chol.
King missed all of last year after undergoing a right-knee reconstruction, and the Suns won't take any risks with their star forward.
"We thought the week off for Kingy would give him a bit of a spike, which it did," interim Gold Coast coach Steven King said.
"He completed training on Wednesday, trained really strongly.
"This morning he came in and presented with a bit of swelling in his knee.
"We just didn't want to take any risks this week."
The coach remains confident there will be no long-term issue for the highly regarded Suns forward, who has booted 40 goals from 20 games this season.
"No concern," King said.
"We'll have the chat next week about whether it's worth him making the trip down to Tassie or not (for Gold Coast's final game of 2023, against North Melbourne).
"We'll do the best thing for Ben.
"My philosophy as a coach and a person is you don't want to push someone into something they're not (ready for).
"You let the player decide where they're at.
"Kingy had another crack, it was up to him how he felt. To his credit, he trained strongly - but obviously there's something there."
Saturday's match will mark the AFL return of defender Connor Budarick, who suffered a second ACL tear in July last year.
Chol, Alex Sexton, Brayden Fiorini and debutant Lloyd Johnston are the other inclusions for the Suns.
Fifth-placed Carlton are on an eight-match winning run, and victory over Gold Coast could secure a home final.
But if results go against the Blues, two losses to finish the season could result in them missing the finals.
"We all would like to dream a little, but the reality is the job's not done yet," Carlton coach Michael Voss said of the prospect of playing finals.
"So our whole week has been about narrowing our focus in on the Gold Coast."
The Blues have been bolstered by the return of key forward Harry McKay, who has missed the past five weeks with a knee injury.
McKay was initially expected to miss six to eight weeks.
"It was a little bit sooner than what we expected," Voss said.
"His impact is pretty obvious. He's a great support for Charlie (Curnow).
"We've missed him, and I'm sure Charlie is happy to have him back."
