A third major facial injury in less than 12 months will not end the career of Jonathan Brown, arguably the AFL’s toughest player.

But Brisbane have said it will definitely put their captain out of action for the first two rounds of the regular season.

The earliest Brown will return is the round-three clash with Fremantle on April 14 in Perth.

“Let’s get this fixed and it should be right in a few weeks,” the AFL ironman told the Courier Mail newspaper after consulting a Brisbane specialist on Wednesday.

Brown’s comments appear to quash concerns his latest blow to the face could end his career.

His fracture came after a heavy collision with team-mate Matt Maguire during training on Wednesday at Giffin Park.

He was whisked away by the club’s medical coordinator Shane Lemcke for scans at a Brisbane x-ray centre before consulting a specialist a few hours later.

Brown was then booked in for surgery on his left cheekbone on Wednesday night.

The heart and soul of the Lions, Brown came back from two sickening facial injuries last year.

He underwent extensive facial reconstruction surgery to his eye socket, cheek and broken jaw following a collision with Fremantle defender Luke McPharlin in round one at the Gabba.

Eight games into his comeback, he suffered another facial injury in round 17 against Geelong at the Gabba and Brown needed a second bout of surgery which ended his season.

The club said in a statement that the fractured cheekbone is unrelated to his 2011 injuries.

Maguire, who was scheduled to give a media conference after training, was too upset to talk to journalists.

Team-mates showed immediate concern for their leader, one of the AFL’s highest-profile players, as he lay on the ground for several seconds following the multi-player collision.

A dazed Brown walked off the training paddock with team-mates and officials fearing the worst.

Lions general manager of football operations Dean Warren said the injury was disappointing for Brown, who was in the best shape of his career following his first full pre-season in several years.

“He was in excellent shape heading into 2012,” said Warren.

“Fortunately, the fracture is unrelated to the injuries he sustained last year.

“He’ll have surgery tonight and our focus as a club is clearly on his health and wellbeing.

“He’ll be determined to return as soon as possible but we’ll ensure he receives the appropriate clearances when the time is right.”

Brown, 30, has played 210 games for the Lions since his 2000 debut.

The three-time premiership player has made the All-Australian team twice and won the Coleman Medal as the league’s top goalkicker in 2007.

He was co-captain in 2007 and ’08 and has held the position by himself since 2009.