Lions defender to miss AFL season start

Brisbane Lions defender Brandon Starcevich will be sidelined for the first two months of the 2019 AFL season after undergoing hamstring surgery.

The Lions said Starcevich went under the knife in Melbourne on Tuesday after their medical team discovered further damage to the injury sustained in this month's pre-season practice match against VFL side Casey Demons.

"After some further investigation by our medical team the injury turned out to be worse than first thought, so we sent him down to Melbourne for surgery," Lions football manager David Noble said.