GOLD Coast captain Gary Ablett is unlikely to ever regain full movement in his reconstructed left shoulder but should return to the field soon, leading sports medico Dr Peter Larkins.

After two lots of post-season surgery, Ablett returned to play Gold Coast's opening two games of 2015 but was clearly carrying his shoulder in those matches and opted after the round-two loss to St Kilda to take a prolonged rest.

Larkins told AFL.com.au that Ablett might not play again in 2015 if he waited to regain full mobility in his shoulder, but said the two-time Brownlow medallist should return successfully once he regained full strength in the joint.

"It's been an extraordinarily long recovery period. We're in territory that we're not normally talking about with AFL footballers," Larkins said.

"Gary suffered his original injury last July and given a standard shoulder reconstruction has a four-month recovery period he should have been right by November.

"But he obviously developed the frozen shoulder condition which is an extraordinary complication of a shoulder reconstruction.

"If he's waiting to get 100 per cent movement again before he plays he might not play again this year.

"But getting his movement back is not going to be the issue, it's really whether his strength is back and his pain is manageable.

"If he can get his pain under control he can take the tackles, if he can get his strength back he can fend off and tackle himself.

"I'm expecting he's not too far away."

Larkins said Ablett's reluctance to take anti-inflammatories could have delayed his recovery in its early stages, while his return for this year's opening two rounds had clearly aggravated his shoulder.

But Larkins said it was hard to tell whether Ablett would be back playing now if he had taken a different approach to his rehabilitation.

"Controlling the inflammation in the early stages can mean there's less reaction," Larkins said.

"Gary is reluctant to take anything unnatural, he doesn't like medications to be used.

"If the inflammation process had been addressed a little more aggressively that might have made a difference, but having said that this is a complication that occurs in everyday practice even with the best of treatments.

"So it's pretty hard to be critical when a frozen shoulder is a difficult complication that some people get anyway."

Meanwhile, Larkins said Geelong could be without talls Mitch Clark and Rhys Stanley for the next two weeks after the pair was injured in Sunday's loss to West Coast.

"Mitch has injured his left calf which is in one sense good news because there was some initial concern that he might have aggravated the foot injury he suffered earlier this year," Larkins said.

"Geelong is waiting on the results of scans but given he's such an explosive player if he has suffered any degree of strain in the calf he's likely to be missing for a week or two.

"Rhys Stanley was subbed out with soreness in his quad and if a strain is confirmed he's likely to be missing a couple of weeks."

Larkins said Essendon captain Jobe Watson was in doubt for the Bombers' clash against Geelong this Saturday night after suffering a low-grade adductor strain in last round's loss to Richmond.

Larkins said Watson's injury was not to the same leg that sidelined him with a quad tear for 10 weeks last season, and believed the Brownlow medallist was likely to miss one week at the most.

However, Larkins said the Dons would probably be missing Dustin Fletcher for the next two weeks after the veteran also suffered an adductor strain against Richmond in his 400th game.

"Dustin has had a history over the past two or three seasons of regularly missing a game here and there and being managed with adductor strains, so these things are recurring regularly now for Fletch unfortunately," Larkins said.

Western Bulldog youngster Marcus Bontempelli also suffered an adductor tear last round against Greater Western Sydney, but Larkins expected him to be fit to take on Port Adelaide this Saturday night.

"Bontempelli has a very low-grade adductor strain and the Bulldogs think he'll be able to train and play this week," he said.

Larkins also said:

- Hawk Paul Puopolo sprained the front of his ankle in the Gold Coast win rather than suffering a typical sideways sprain. These type of sprains can recover a little bit faster if strapped up, but Hawthorn will likely err on the side of caution and give him a week off.

- Carlton half-back Chris Yarran suffered a high-grade lateral ligament sprain in his ankle against the Sydney Swans last Friday night and could miss two weeks.

- Fellow Blue Troy Menzel was also in doubt for the clash with Adelaide on Saturday, with Carlton set to monitor swelling and soreness in his reconstructed right knee this week.

- The Blues are hopeful Chris Judd will return against the Crows after a week off with knee soreness, while key defender Michael Jamison (calf) could also return for his first game since round four after stepping up his training loads last week.

- However, Blues skipper Marc Murphy is only a 50-50 chance to take on Adelaide after he was a late withdrawal with a calf injury last round, while fellow midfielder Bryce Gibbs is likely to miss another week with a back injury.

- Sydney Swans defender Heath Grundy was a late withdrawal from last Friday night's win over Carlton with quad soreness and is likely to miss one more week.

- Brisbane Lions captain Tom Rockliff is expected to miss two to three matches after re-fracturing three ribs in last Sunday's loss to St Kilda, while former captain Jed Adcock suffered a calf strain that is likely to sideline him for at least two to three weeks.

- Fellow Lion Claye Beams has been battling ongoing problems with his reconstructed left knee that could sideline him from Sunday's clash against Greater Western Sydney, while teammate Ryan Harwood pulled up very well after the Saints loss but, like most players this season, will probably miss a week with concussion.

- Gold Coast's Jack Martin over-stretched his right hamstring injury early in the Suns' loss to Hawthorn last Saturday and given his history of injuries is likely to miss at least three to four matches.

- North Melbourne skipper Andrew Swallow remains in doubt for Sunday's clash against West Coast after missing the past two rounds with a broken thumb.

- Luckless Geelong tall Nathan Vardy looks increasingly unlikely to play senior football this season after undergoing another arthroscope on his reconstructed knee to remove scar tissue. Vardy is unlikely to return to full training for at least a month.