Jonathan Brown appears set to play on for a 15th AFL season in what would be a major boost to the strife-torn Brisbane Lions.

In an indication the Lions co-captain is seriously preparing for 2014, Brown underwent minor knee surgery last Friday in a procedure that will allow him to start pre-season training.

It was his second operation in a fortnight after going under the knife to repair the plantar fascia tear that ended his season in the round-19 win over St Kilda.

The Lions revealed on Monday that Brown had been troubled by a knee injury during this season as he kicked 28 goals in 15 games.

The club said the clean-up operation was a success and the inspirational power forward’s recovery time frame was expected to be six weeks.

Off contract this year, Brown has consistently said he would wait until the end of the season before deciding on his playing future.

The triple-premiership winner stressed after his foot operation that his season-ending injury wouldn’t influence his decision.

Fellow key position player Daniel Merrett won’t start his pre-season training until after Christmas due to surgery on his broken ankle.

Merrett was booked in for an operation on Monday after suffering a fracture to his left ankle in the third quarter of Sunday night’s seven-point win against Western Bulldogs.

Injury-plagued midfielder Jared Polec, who has played just 16 games in three seasons after being the No.5 draft pick in 2010, was also due to have ankle surgery on Monday.

Despite jumping to 10th on the AFL ladder with their sixth win in eight games on the weekend, the future remains murky for the Lions.

The board is suffering from a split after the axing of Michael Voss, with former premiership coach Leigh Matthews on a ticket to challenge current chairman Angus Johnson.