Marcus Bontempelli's calf injury is "progressing nicely" and the Western Bulldogs superstar could be back as soon as Gather Round.
After hurting himself in a community series match against Hawthorn, Bontempelli was added to an already lengthy injury list at Whitten Oval.
In a concern for Bulldogs fans, the club described Bontempelli's issue as "complex".
But the captain is feeling optimistic more than a week on from the setback.
"Obviously not ideal any way that you look at it, missing the jump this year on the start of the season," Bontempelli told SEN on Tuesday.
"It's going to take a little bit of time, which is the frustrating thing, but the good thing is I feel great and really confident with our team that I've spent a long time with from a medical perspective.
"The important part here is to get it right so there's no issues down the track.
"Hopefully it's around five to six weeks (from the injury), we're looking in that vicinity.
"Where that takes us to is probably around the Brisbane game in Gather Round, so in and around there is where we're hoping."
Former No.1 draft pick Jamarra Ugle-Hagan is another key player who won't be available for Saturday night's round-one match against North Melbourne.
Ugle-Hagan has been working through personal issues over the summer, regularly training away from the club.
Bontempelli failed to confirm or deny a report about the Bulldogs considering withdrawing Ugle-Hagan from the team only hours before their elimination final defeat to Hawthorn in September.
But Bontempelli caught up with Ugle-Hagan in Kew on the weekend and was pleased with his progress in getting his life and career back on track.
"We're always in that meeting (prior to a game) talking about the best look and who we can get the best out of," Bontempelli said.
"That final didn't play out the best for us, but that's going to happen.
"We move forward, that's the key now and we won't be going too much into recent history."
Ugle-Hagan also reportedly needed to earn respect and trust back from Rory Lobb after briefly living with the defender last year.
But Lobb, who revitalised his career with a move to the backline last season, brushed off any suggestion of a rift with the forward.
"Obviously he lived with us - myself and my partner - towards the back end of last year," Lobb told SEN.
"We're still on good terms. We're really good. I'm just hoping we can get around him and get him back to playing some footy.
"He's got a few personal things to go through, but we're just trying to put our arms around him as a football club and trying to get him back to playing some football."
Others on the Bulldogs' injury list include Adam Treloar, Liam Jones, Cody Weightman and Jason Johannisen.
