Gun Brisbane forward Jonathan Brown won’t battle any mental demons in his third career comeback from facial surgery against Fremantle but will miss teammate Simon Black’s ability to lay on points as he chases an elusive 500-goal milestone.

Brown, 30, has been cleared to resume his playing career following a training mishap in February, 11 months after suffering horrendous facial injuries against Fremantle in March last year which required extensive surgery.

“There won’t be any masks or helmets. It’ll just be me out there on my own dodging the traffic,” laughed Brown, whose career tally of goals has stalled on 498 through a spate on injuries.

The fact he’s returning against the side he was playing when his luck turned sour wasn’t lost on Brown, although he was adamant he was not mentally scarred.

“Maybe this will be the start of some good luck and bring some closure to the pain,” he said on Monday.

Brown said because it was a facial injury he’d been able to maintain a good level of fitness although he hadn’t done any heavy contact work.

“That will happen on Wednesday and usually the first time you have contact after facial injuries is in a game,” he said.

“You have to remember the first injury I received against the Dockers was a long injury so there was some apprehension there (when I came back) but this one is pretty straight forward.

“The frustration for me is not having any continuity playing in the last 18 months.

“You want to be playing and out there as much as you can towards the end of your career.

“Unfortunately I’ve seen a few of my premiership teammates spend a lot of time on the sidelines in their final few years and it’s something I’ve often thought about.

Brown, who needs two more goals to take his career haul to 500, said his thoughts were more with veteran midfielder Black, who’s facing his own stint on the sidelines following hand surgery this week.

“It’s been there since round 17 last year, two goals to go to get to 500,” he said.

“It’d be nice to get there and something to be proud of post career.

“It’s disappointing and my enthusiasm for my comeback has been tempered a little because I know Blackie’s probably put most of those 500 goals on my chest.

“Knowing he’s not going to be there is a big blow for the club and obviously I love playing with him.

“He’s probably go through a similar thing to what I’ve gone through I guess.”